Forum calls for funded career pathways in nursing and midwifery research
The future of nurse and midwife-led research took centre stage at the SPHERE Nursing and Midwifery Implementation Science Academy Forum on September 17, where speakers and delegates pressed the case for fully funded clinician-researcher career pathways into practice and academia.
The proposed model would enable nurses to undertake research at an entry level (internship), honours, master’s or PhD, and critically for early and mid-career researchers in their post-doctoral research careers. It also would enable them to spend a proportion of their time in their usual clinical role and a proportion of their time undertaking research with no loss of salary. Despite strong support for this type of scheme from NSW Health and other national bodies, it remains unfunded.
Speakers including Professor Sandy Middleton, Associate Professor Evan Alexandrou, Dr Kim Sutherland (Executive Director, Office for Health and Medical Research) and Professor Robert Gorkin (Interim Executive Director, SPHERE) highlighted both the clinical and economic benefits of nurse- and midwife-led research. International data presented at the forum showed a fivefold return on investment for every dollar spent.
Discussions also focused on the new NSW Health Research and Innovation Strategy 2025–2030, which aims to embed research into health systems with strong support for clinician researcher pathways for all disciplines. A key takeaway was the resounding support for a fully funded career pathway for nursing and midwifery clinician researchers.
Directors of Nursing and Midwifery, along with nurses and midwives from St Vincent's Health Network, South Eastern Sydney Local Health District, and South Western Sydney Local Health District, attended to demonstrate strong support for nurse-led research and the clinician-researcher career pathway.
The forum made one message clear: a funded career pathway for nursing and midwifery clinician-researchers is essential to build a research-active workforce that can drive better care and stronger health systems.