Conference Proceedings - School of Nursing & Midwifery - Trinity ...

School of Nursing & Midwifery, Trinity College Dublin: 8 th Annual Interdisciplinary Research Conference
Transforming Healthcare Through Research, Education & Technology: 7 th – 9 th November 2007
Conference Proceedings
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Competencies required for successful interdisciplinary
research 1
Kristine M. Gebbie, DrPH, RN
Elizabeth Standish Gill Professor of Nursing
Co-authors: BM Meier, S Bakken, O Carrasquillo, A Formicola, S
Aboelela, S Glied, E Larson.
Correspondence should be directed to Dr. Gebbie at
Columbia University School of Nursing
630 West 168 th Street, New York NY 10032
kmg24@columbia.edu
Phone 212-305-1794, Fax 212-305-3659
There is increasing interest in health-related research that
translates findings from laboratory bench to patient care, and from
the hospital to the community. These translations require
successful interdisciplinary collaboration, and research centers are
beginning to develop scholars ready to do such work. However, key
information about exactly what preparation is needed has not been
available. Given the importance of knowing competencies to be
achieved at the conclusion of education, the specific aim of the
study reported here was to specify competencies needed by a
scholar in order to successfully carry out interdisciplinary research.
Each competency statement identified provides an individual
measure of applied skills and knowledge that enable people to
perform work, and consists of an action verb (observable or
measurable performance of a worker), content (subject matter,
type of performance, specific task) and the context (limitations or
conditions of work environment).
Methodology including research design and analysis The study
was conducted using a Delphi process previously established as
effective in specifying competencies in an emerging field of practice.
21 candidate competencies were identified through a literature
review and research team consultation. The 30-member Delphi
panel with expertise in interdisciplinary research was selected to
represent a range of disciplines and research settings. Two rounds
of feedback from the panel resulted in 17 competency statements
that were reviewed for final comments by the Delphi panel.
Candidate competencies were eliminated when unsupported by at
1 Funded in part by The Center for Interdisciplinary Research on Antimicrobial
Research, CIRAR, http://www.cumc.columbia.edu/dept/nursing/CIRAR/, funded
by The National Center for Research Resources, P20 RR020616.
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