How Clinician-Scientists Access and Mobilise Social Capital and Thus Contribute to the Professional Development of Their Colleagues in Their Networks

Abstract

Clinician-scientists, physicians who conduct research, may fulfil a bridging role in networks of health care researchers and practitioners. Within clinician-scientists’ networks, knowledge sharing is thought to play a vital role in the continuing professional development of themselves and their colleagues. However, little is known about networks of clinician-scientists and how this impacts continuing professional development. Rooted in social capital theory, this study provides a mixed methods exploration of clinician-scientists’ networks. Ego-level social network data were collected via semi-structured interviews on professional interactions about evidence-based practice with 15 clinician-scientists in the area of general practice and elderly care. Quantitative analysis revealed that professional networks of clinician-scientists varied in size, composition, and frequency of interactions depending on appointed research time and experience. Less experienced clinician-scientists interacted most frequently with other clinician-scientists while experienced clinician-scientist experienced more sporadically with clinicians. Clinician-scientists with more research time interacted more frequently with scientists and had a slightly larger professional network than those with less research time. The thematic qualitative analysis revealed different decision-making processes of clinician-scientists on mobilising their social capital and connecting to others in the network: (1) deliberate decision about initiating connections; (2) reactive behaviour without a decision; (3) ad-hoc decision. Clinician-scientists exchange knowledge to enhance their own continuing professional development mainly but also contribute to the professional development of clinicians, scientists, and other clinician-scientists.