Aim To describe nursing research that has been conducted to understand the phenomenon of resilience in nurses. Background Resilience is the ability to bounce back or cope successfully despite adverse circumstances. Nurses deal with modern‐day problems that affect their abilities to remain resilient. Nursing administrators/managers need to look for solutions not only to recruit nurses, but to become knowledgeable about how to support and retain nurses. Evaluation A comprehensive search was undertaken for nursing research conducted between 1990 and 2011. Key search terms were nurse, resilience, resiliency and resilient. Whittemore and Knafl's integrative approach was used to conduct the methodological review. Key issues Challenging workplaces, psychological emptiness, diminishing inner balance and a sense of dissonance are contributing factors for resilience. Examples of intrapersonal characteristics include hope, self‐efficacy and coping. Cognitive reframing, toughening up, grounding connections, work‐life balance and reconciliation are resilience building strategies. Conclusion This review provides information about the concept of resilience. Becoming aware of contributing factors to the need for resilience and successful strategies to build resilience can help in recruiting and retaining nurses. Implications for nursing management Understanding the concept of resilience can assist in providing support and developing programmes to help nurses become and stay resilient.

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Nurses in clinical settings need to be able to use research findings and incorporate EBP into their nursing practice to promote positive patient outcomes. Appropriate organisational infrastructures are essential for promoting EBP and research utilisation in clinical settings. Diverse and effective methods are essential in educating and engaging nurses in EBP and research utilisation. Computer-based education is an effective approach that can be used by nursing leaders in health care organisations to educate and engage nurses in EBP initiatives and research utilisation.

Coronary heart disease (CHD) is the leading cause of death in American women and is a major cause of morbidity. The American Heart Association (AHA) reports that in the year 2000, 515,661 women died from all categories of cardiovascular disease. An estimated 254,630 women suffer a myocardial infarction annually. Women diagnosed with CHD experienced greater morbidity and mortality than men. Women's perceptions of their risk for heart disease can greatly influence their decision-making process in regard to healthcare decisions. The general public still perceives heart disease as primarily a health problem for men. Evidence shows that women perceive breast cancer as a greater risk than CHD. These misperceptions may lead women to underestimate their risk for CHD and fail to seek early interventions to prevent unnecessary morbidity and mortality. The purpose of this article is to report the results of an integrative review of nursing research related to women's perceptions of risks for heart disease. CINAHL, Medline, EBSCO host, and Proquest databases were searched for nursing research conducted between the years of 1985 and 2002. Key search terms were women, heart disease, coronary artery disease, perceptions, risk factors, and health promotion behaviors. Study selection was limited to the first author being a nurse researcher. Twenty articles and dissertations were retrieved that met the key search terms. Eleven articles were excluded because the first author was not a nurse researcher. This integrative review includes 5 articles and 4 dissertations. Results revealed that women's perceptions of their CHD risks are underestimated, that health-promoting behaviors are not influenced by risk perceptions, that society imposes barriers that prevent participation in health promotion behavior, and that communication between women and their healthcare providers is lacking.