By Wendy Young (Island Health) and Lenora Marcellus (UVic)
Many individuals (academics, health care providers, decision makers, citizens) are not new to research collaboration, unlike the target audience for the very successful For Dummies™ series, i.e. people who are new to a specific topic. We offer the following tips to people who are looking for suggestions on ways to strengthen existing research partnerships and for people who want to nurture new research partnerships.
Through discovery, we found that there are key tips that are suitable for both clinical practitioners and academics.
1. Get out of your usual work environment. Meet your collaborators in their place of employment.
2. Go beyond the simple introductions and the basic things that you can do. Actively build and be around and hang out and get the feel for the culture, the people — that makes the partnership so much closer and easier. Take some time to get to know each other before getting into the business of research.
3. Respect the expertise of your partners and appreciate the win/win of collaborating. Front-line health care providers have many ideas for research topics based on current practice. Providers are very familiar with the services offered at Island Health and throughout the province; they share that knowledge with academics who may be challenged to navigate their way through a complex health care system. Academics bring experience with developing and conducting research; they share that knowledge with practitioners who are interested in exploring their clinical questions.
4. Be respectful of competing priorities. Academics and clinical practitioners both have time crunches, often at different times.
5. Engage in active listening and share concerns.
6. Appreciate the differences in incentives. Academics are expected to access research funding and translate their findings, usually through publishing papers in journals. Providers have a professional responsibility to provide care that is evidence-informed. Research is for everyone. And at the end of the day, our goal is the same, excellent health and care for everyone.
7. As Ellen DeGeneres says “Here are the values that I stand for: honesty, equality, kindness, compassion, and treating people the way you want to be treated.” (http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/honesty.html)
Use these tips and we are confident that you will have fun while engaging in research that makes a difference and improves outcomes for patients, providers and our health care system.
From the 2015 Spring Communiqué — In Collaboration with Island Health
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