Increasing Nursing Faculty Research: The Iowa Gerontological Nursing Research and Regional Research Consortium Strategies

Abstract

Research development and regional consortium strategies are described to assist schools in all countries extend their gerontological nursing research productivity. The strategies, collaboration and mentoring experiences, and outcomes are also shared to illustrate a highly successful approach in increasing faculty programs of nursing research in a focused area of inquiry. A case description of gerontological nursing research development and regional consortium strategies in schools of nursing is used. The regional consortium included 17 schools of nursing that are working to increase faculty programs of gerontological nursing research. Survey responses describing publications, presentations, and research funding awards from 65 of 114 total faculty participants in consortium opportunities (pilot and mentoring grant participants, participants in summer scholars' grantsmanship seminars) were collected annually from 1995 through 2008 to describe outcomes. From 1994 through 2008, faculty participants from the consortium schools who responded to the annual surveys reported a total of 597 gerontological nursing publications, 527 presentations at research conferences, funding of 221 small and internal grants, and 130 external grant awards, including 47R-series grants and 4 K awards. There is an urgent need for more nurse faculty with programs of research to inform the health care of persons and support the preparation of nurse clinicians and faculty. The shortage of nurse scientists with active programs of gerontological research is especially serious and limits the number of faculty who are needed to prepare future gerontological nurses, particularly those with doctoral degrees who will assume faculty positions. Further, junior faculty with a gerontological nursing research foci often lack the colleagues, mentors, and environments needed to develop successful research careers. The outcomes of the development and regional consortium strategies suggest that the principles of extending collaboration, mentoring, and resource sharing are useful to augment faculty research opportunities, networking and support, and to increase productivity in individual schools. Clinical relevance includes: (a) implications for preparing nurse scientists and academicians who are and will be needed to train nurses for clinical practice, and (b) development of more faculty programs of research to provide systematic evidence to inform nursing practice.