Commentary on collaboration: the key to interdisciplinary research.

Abstract: Researchers seeking federal and other sources of funding for their proposed studies have found the request for applications are for those developed by multidisciplinary teams including but not limited faith based and grass root organizations. Nurses, pharmacist, physicians, allied health providers, students, clergy and lay organizations are working together to decrease health disparities. Academic settings have the infrastructure and human resources that can promote interdisciplinary opportunities for partnerships across campus, within their school, colleges and community. The author provides recommendations for building a multidisciplinary research team. Key Words: Nursing, Community Organizations, Interdisciplinary Research, Grants Over the past 28 years, I have had many experiences as a bedside nurse, educator and researcher. As a nurse I continuously seek answers to complex health-related problems. I have worked closely with health care teams, both here in the United States and aboard. The health care system is complex, and our patients as well as many of the providers have similar questions. A multidisciplinary approach can lead to a better understanding of our patients that enhance our delivery of health care. Nurse researchers have made significant contributions to the health sciences. Nurses understand the importance of interdisciplinary research and its contribution to the art and science of nursing. Getting Started As a New Faculty Member - Seeking Opportunities for Collaboration Being employed in an academic setting provides many opportunities for collaboration. As a nurse, I have partnered with pharmacists, ministers, physicians, lay organizations, students and allied health professionals who held similar research interests. A major factor in establishing these relationships was making our research interest known to others within the academic setting via e-mail, faculty meetings, conferences, and networking on campus. This helped to locate other individuals who had similar research interests. New tenured track faculty members usually have similar interests, e.g., securing external grant funding for their research, successful submission, and publications of articles in peer reviewed journals based on their dissertation findings. In my institution, locating and speaking personally with other faculty with an interest in cancer, and HIV/ AIDS research led to the development of a successful collaboration team of peer researchers During one of our faculty meetings, new faculty members were asked to share their research interests. They quickly learned that many of us had an interest in cancer and HIV/ AIDS research. In addition, some of the faculty had external funding and were willing to mentor junior faculty. As in many academic settings, most of us had not published our dissertation findings; and that was one of our major "tasks." Taking that large document and writing one or two articles was indeed challenging. I was blessed to have a Dean who knew my research interest and worked with me in securing a mentor for the writing and submission of a KOI Mentor Scientist grant from the National Institute of Nursing Research. Working with my mentor, searching the literature and writing draft after draft until the proposal was ready for submission was a major task. I must say, on more than one occasion I wanted to "call it quits" and return to the bedside. However, with the support of my nursing colleagues, my family and mentor, I believed I had a fundable proposal. The grant was funded and several articles were submitted and published in peer reviewed journals. However, that was only the beginning of my research career. My colleagues and I are always seeking possibilities for collaboration. Informal meetings, telephone calls and e-mails have been our mode of communication. What has worked for us is knowing each others' research interests and areas of expertise. …