Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Sep;8(5):2840-2849.
doi: 10.1002/nop2.868. Epub 2021 Apr 9.

A survey of nurses' experience integrating oncology clinical and academic worlds

Kristen R Haase  1 , Fay J Strohschein  2 , Tara C Horill  3 , Leah K Lambert  1   4 , Tracy L Powell  5
Affiliations

A survey of nurses' experience integrating oncology clinical and academic worlds

Kristen R Haase et al. Nurs Open. 2021 Sep.

Abstract

Aim: To better understand how oncology nurses (a) navigate graduate studies; (b) perceive the impact of their academic work on their clinical practice, and vice versa; and (c) engage with clinical settings following graduate work.

Design: Interpretive descriptive cross-sectional survey.

Methods: A qualitative exploratory web-based survey exploring integration of graduate studies and clinical nursing practice.

Results: About 87 participants from seven countries responded. 71% were employed in clinical settings, 53% were enrolled in/graduated from Master's programs; 47% were enrolled in/graduated from doctoral programs. Participants had diverse motivations for pursuing graduate studies and improving clinical care. Participants reported graduate preparation increased their ability to provide quality care and conduct research. Lack of time and institutional structures were challenges to integrating clinical work and academic pursuits.

Conclusions: Given the many constraints and numerous benefits of nurses engaging in graduate work, structures and strategies to support hybrid roles should be explored.

Keywords: cross-sectional studies; employment; leadership; oncology nursing; surveys and questionnaires.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflicts to disclose.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Approach to rigour (based on description by Thorne, 2016)
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Participant characteristics
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Themes
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Allen, D. G. (2006). Whiteness and difference in nursing. Nursing Philosophy, 7(2), 65–78. 10.1111/j.1466-769X.2006.00255.x - DOI - PubMed
    1. Andreassen, P., & Christensen, M. K. (2018). “We're at a watershed”: The positioning of PhD nurses in clinical practice. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 74(8), 1908–1918. 10.1111/jan.13581 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Braun, V., Clarke, V., Boulton, E., Davey, L., & McEvoy, C. (2020). The online survey as a qualitative research tool. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 1–14.
    1. Cathro, H. (2011). Pursuing graduate studies in nursing education: Driving and restraining forces. The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 16(3), 7. - PubMed
    1. Clark, L., Casey, D., & Morris, S. (2015). The value of Master's degrees for registered nurses. British Journal of Nursing, 24(6), 328–334. 10.12968/bjon.2015.24.6.328 - DOI - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources