LAUSR

Globally, we are in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, and in terms of health care, the impact on stakeholders, service commissioners, and research funders is still to be fully realized. At the heart of leading and/or conducting a growing number of healthcare research projects are nurses/midwives who hold posts known as Clinical Academic Researchers in the U.K. – or internationally they are often referred to as Nurse/Midwife Scientists – who as part of their contract of work conduct a significant research role. Some of these postholders have shared contracts in both health organizations such as local hospital trusts and associated academic Higher Education Institutions (such as a University). One example of where these posts have rapidly grown is the U.K. The swift development of Clinical Academic Nurse/Midwife Researchers in the U.K. over the last decade has begun to now yield many positive results about this role, including bridging the perceived gap between academia and practice. More importantly, evidence has begun to emerge on how these postholders are contributing to the generation of new knowledge and the advancement of care and treatments, as well as their contributions to the best evidence to help improve outcomes and experiences for patients (Association of UK University Hospitals, 2016; Coad et al., 2019; Westwood et al., 2013). In terms of Children’s Nursing, while clinical academic research roles are complex and varied across the UK, we are witnessing the real differences Clinical Academic Children’s Nurses have made in practice (Coad et al., 2019). Prior to the pandemic of COVID-19, many positive changes had thus been reported.