ABSTRACT Background: Within Europe, substantial changes in academia in recent years have transformed the work of academic nurses. The most important change has been a result of the Bologna Process, launched in 1999, as it has led to the implementation of significant reforms to higher education across participating European countries. Purpose: The aim of this study was to develop a theoretical understanding of the effect of the Bologna Process on academic nurses’ professional development and explore academic nurses’ perceptions of the challenges and opportunities they encounter in the teaching and research arena. Method: A qualitative study was conducted. The participants were eight academic nurses and data were collected through 24 in-depth, semi-structured weekly interviews. The analysis was performed using the constant comparative method, leading to the construction of categories based on the constant comparison of similarities and differences between the participants. Findings: The coding process led to the identification and interpretation of the core category. This category, identified as ‘The academic career: Contradiction as a key player’, emerged as a result of analysis of the interaction of four categories: (1) opportunity for change, (2) unnecessary difficulties, (3) growth of the discipline and (4) institutional requirements. Findings indicated that the academic nurses in the study viewed the Bologna Process positively but noted several obstacles to its implementation. According to the participants, the changes also led to conflict in terms of their work–life balance. Conclusions: This study is of relevance to nursing education and to clinical nursing practice. It suggests that the implementation of the Bologna Process in nursing studies has helped nurses to regard research as part of their autonomous professional role, and to be aware that research contributes to improve clinical practice, providing an evidence base on which to design and assess nursing interventions. However, the notion that academic nurses consider research within a contradiction paradigm is a potential barrier to the advancement of nursing science and evidence-based practice.

中文翻译：

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学术生涯：作为护理教育关键参与者的矛盾

摘要背景：在欧洲，近年来学术界的重大变化已经改变了学术护士的工作。最重要的变化是 1999 年启动的博洛尼亚进程的结果，因为它导致了参与欧洲国家的高等教育重大改革的实施。目的：本研究的目的是发展对博洛尼亚进程对学术护士专业发展影响的理论理解，并探讨学术护士对他们在教学和研究领域遇到的挑战和机遇的看法。方法：进行了定性研究。参与者是八名学术护士，数据是通过 24 次深入、半结构化的每周访谈收集的。使用常数比较法进行分析，导致基于参与者之间的异同的不断比较来构建类别。结果：编码过程导致了核心类别的识别和解释。这一类别被确定为“学术生涯：作为关键参与者的矛盾”，是对以下四个类别的相互作用进行分析的结果：(1) 变革的机会，(2) 不必要的困难，(3) 学科的发展(4) 制度要求。结果表明，研究中的学术护士对博洛尼亚进程持积极态度，但指出其实施存在一些障碍。据参与者称，这些变化也导致了他们在工作与生活平衡方面的冲突。结论：本研究与护理教育和临床护理实践相关。它表明在护理研究中实施博洛尼亚过程有助于护士将研究视为其自主专业角色的一部分，并意识到研究有助于改善临床实践，为设计和评估护理干预提供证据基础. 然而，学术护士在矛盾范式内考虑研究的观念是护理科学和循证实践进步的潜在障碍。