This post focuses on an article on the transition of advanced clinical nurses into the academic setting. Advanced Clinical Practitioners (ACPs) work at high levels of autonomy across clinical, leadership, research, and education domains. Transitioning to academia requires a major shift. ACPs must adopt new professional identities. They need to learn academic-specific skills. This transition can be challenging.

ACPs often feel “clinically confident but academically uncertain.”

Resource: Hill, B., Wilkinson, J., Fox, S. D., & Burton-Gow, H. (2025). Transition from advanced clinician to academic. British Journal of Nursing, 34(8).

Identity Shift

• Moving from clinical practice to academia can disrupt ACPs’ sense of professional identity.

Skill Adaptation

• Clinical expertise alone is not sufficient. ACPs need training in teaching strategies, curriculum design, assessment, and educational theory.

Institutional Dynamics

• Academic environments operate differently from clinical ones, with unique cultures, hierarchies, and expectations.
• ACPs often find academic demands for research productivity, securing grants, and publishing stressful and unfamiliar.
• Building academic networks and participating in faculty development programs can ease the transition.

Emotional and Psychological Adjustments

• ACPs may experience imposter syndrome and heightened stress due to new academic pressures.
• Institutions should support ACPs with mental health resources, mentorship, and resilience-building opportunities.

Other Challenges

• Balancing teaching with continuing clinical work to maintain clinical relevancy is demanding. It can be especially challenging for those who practice each role in a part-time capacity.

Conclusion

• The transition from advanced clinical practice to academia is complex but offers significant personal and professional growth opportunities.
• With appropriate support systems and resources, ACPs can successfully adapt and thrive in academia, benefiting healthcare education and practice.

Additional Resources

This follows on nicely from our recent Nurse as Scientist post.

Hill, B. (2017). Exploring the development and identity of advanced practice nursing in the UK. Nurs Manag. 24:(5)36-40 

Murray, C., Stanley, M., & Wright, S. (2014). The transition from clinician to academic in nursing and allied health: a qualitative meta-synthesis. Nurse Educ Today. 34:(3)389-395

Ross, P.M., Scanes, E., & Locke, W. (2024). Stress adaptation and resilience of academics in higher education. Asia Pacific Education Review. 25:829-849