The expectations of two New Zealand health services of the role of clinical chairs in Nursing and Midwifery.

Clinical Professoriate positions within nursing or midwifery in New Zealand are a relatively recent development. One New Zealand University worked collaboratively to establish two joint clinical Professorial appointments with different District Health Boards. Each position had unique mandates around research platforms, and differing operational responsibilities. This paper reports on the qualitative component of a larger study that aimed to examine the research culture, and the role of Clinical Chairs, within the two District Health Boards. This phase of the research involved semi-structured interviews with senior staff from the DHB to explore their experiences of working with the Clinical Professor. Themes that emerged revolved around expectations of the role during its development, and the subsequent perceived outcomes. The need for objective measures of the roles' impact on clinical outcomes emerged as a key impression from the participants. Future research that focuses on measurements of outcomes attributable to the roles will ensure their sustainability over time. Acknowledgment The research was funded by a Victoria University of Wellington, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Research Grant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]