Research interest groups: Creating the foundation for professional nursing education, mentorship, and collaboration

•Research Interest Groups create a translational research and collaboration pathway.•Education, mentorship, and collaboration tri-focus has an impact at multiple levels.•Modest funding with annual reports enhance outcomes and capture overall impact.•This model is easily replicated for promising results in other organizations. Research Interest Groups have been used to enhance collaboration within specialty health care areas. This article was to demonstrate the impact of an organic model created by the TriService Nursing Research Program which became a conduit for collaboration across the three branches of Military Nursing Services to answer relevant research questions and support evidence-based practice. Groups were organized around different specialty topics with a focus on education, mentorship, and collaboration. Modest funding, together with the development of an annual plan and report of scholarly activities allowed the groups to capture their impact and to strategically align efforts to support the National Defense Strategy and excellence in Military Nursing. From 2018 to 2021, overall publications and funded grants for these groups increased each year despite multiple competing priorities. TriService Nursing Research Program Research Interest Groups demonstrate a successful, and easily replicable model to generate and disseminate research to inform clinical practice and health policy, both in the public and private sectors.