{"id":1262,"date":"2025-04-09T11:50:48","date_gmt":"2025-04-09T02:20:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/caring-futures-institute\/?p=1262"},"modified":"2025-04-09T11:50:48","modified_gmt":"2025-04-09T02:20:48","slug":"joint-appointments-stimulate-a-rise-in-research-by-nurses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/caring-futures-institute\/2025\/04\/09\/joint-appointments-stimulate-a-rise-in-research-by-nurses\/","title":{"rendered":"Joint-appointments stimulate a rise in research by nurses"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The answers to nagging health care problems can often be close at hand, which is being proven through research undertaken at Flinders University by an increasing number of clinical nurses \u2013 making a difference to both clinical staff and patients.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Professor Tiffany Conroy<\/span><\/a>\u202fis the Lead of Fundamental Care at Flinders\u2019 Caring Futures Institute, and she also holds a joint appointment as the Director of Nursing and Midwifery Research at the Southern Adelaide Local Health Network (SALHN), a role that is helping to embed more research in the clinical setting at SALHN.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Professor Tiffany Conroy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By initiating more practise-led research with experienced clinicians who have established themselves as experts in their field, Professor Conroy is helping to develop a very clear picture of pressing issues and putting nurse researchers into a position where they can investigate and find solutions.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a bit like being a matchmaker,\u201d explains Professor Conroy with a smile. \u201cPreviously, I don\u2019t think a lot of clinicians knew where to start with research projects, so just having me on-site in this role means we can get together and chat about their ideas and refine those thoughts so they take shape as serious research projects.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very rewarding for me to see these ideas take sharp focus. They come to me firstly with stories \u2013 and clinicians are very good at shaping stories from what they\u2019ve seen, done and experienced \u2013 before focussing on specific groups of people that we are able to help. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe take steps to investigate what is already known about these issues and subjects, and identify the key aspects that remain unknown. As a consequence, we are seeing very practical things being investigated.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The effectiveness of this research is also due to careful consideration about the feasibility of what is being investigated, and its likely outcomes. \u201cIt\u2019s no good trying to tackle something so enormous that it\u2019s not doable. It can\u2019t be something that sits outside the clinical nurses\u2019 work area; the research has to be seen to benefit those areas, and this is where it will be immediately and easily applied.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Professor Conroy\u2019s role has been to discuss core ideas and consider how they can become achievable research, connecting the researchers to an appropriate supervisor and build appropriate support so the research can proceed. This encouragement is reaping great rewards, with six nurses enrolled in the <\/span>Masters of Health and Clinical Research<\/span><\/a> at Flinders in 2025, building their research skills and supporting their career development.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

They are investigating a diverse range of health care questions, including:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n