Lack of Integration of Research in Clinical Practice: A Qualitative Study of Clinical Academics’ Challenges in the Workplace Environment of Danish Hospitals

Clinical academics experience dual workplaces, namely the clinical and the research environment. However, working in two workplaces leads to difficulties in forming an integrated identity, affecting a person’s work environment and well-being. The aim was to explore how clinical academics experience the psychosocial work environment and their suggestions for improving and changing work well-being. A multicenter qualitative approach with group interviews inspired by participatory action design was used. A purposeful criterion sampling strategy was used, selecting researchers affiliated with the university’s research network (n = 12). Data were analyzed by thematic analysis and the consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research was applied. The main finding, ‘lack of integration of research in clinical practice’, revealed how clinical academics balanced between the two practices, how their need for belonging in both work environments was established by fellowship, and how motivational factors and role models could be enhanced through a joint commitment of responsibility in research units and clinical practice. This study provides a contemporary understanding of the challenges that mainly Ph.D. students encounter and what solutions they would offer. This study adds to knowledge on well-being in psychological work and provides solutions on how clinical academic Ph.D. students can achieve the integration of research in clinical practice.