Building research capacity and productivity among advanced practice nurses: an evaluation of the Community of Practice model

Aim The aim of this study was to evaluate Wenger's Community of Practice as a framework for building research capacity and productivity. Background While research productivity is an expected domain in influential models of advanced nursing practice, internationally it remains largely unmet. Establishment of nursing research capacity precedes productivity and consequently, there is a strong imperative to identify successful capacity‐building models for nursing‐focussed research in busy clinical environments. Design Prospective, longitudinal, qualitative descriptive design was used in this study. Methods Bruyn's participant observation framed evaluation of a Community of Practice comprising 25 advanced practice nurses. Data from focus groups, education evaluations, blog/email transcripts and field observations, collected between 2007 and 2014, were analysed using a qualitative descriptive method. Findings The Community of Practice model invited differing levels of participation, allowed for evolution of the research community and created a rhythm of research‐related interactions and enduring research relationships. Participants described the value of research for their patients and families and the significance of the developing research culture in providing richness to their practice and visibility of their work to multidisciplinary colleagues. Extensive examples of research dissemination and enrolment in doctoral programmes further confirmed this value. Conclusion A Community of Practice framework is a powerful model enabling research capacity and productivity evidenced by publication. In developing a solid foundation for a nursing research culture, it should be recognized that research skills, confidence and growth develop over an extended period of time and success depends on skilled coordination and leadership.