A Taste of Nursing Research

Abstract

Developing and implementing a program to introduce clinical nurses to research and evidence-based practice (EBP) should spark interest and participation. In this article, the authors describe and evaluate a staff development initiative not only to introduce the principles of EBP and research but also to give nurses the opportunity to participate in the research process and development of EBP questions.

An Integrative Review of Engaging Clinical Nurses in Nursing Research

“…Of the articles reviewed, only five characterized the level of education of nurses involved in the reports (Brewer, Brewer, & Schultz, 2009;Brown, Johnson, & Appling, 2011;Clifford & Murray, 2001;Jamerson, Fish, & Frandsen, 2011;Wiener, Chacko, Brown, Cron, & Cohen, 2009). Nursing education varied, but most nurses had a diploma, associate degree, or bachelor of science in nursing (Brewer et al, 2009;Brown et al, 2011;Clifford & Murray, 2001;Jamerson et al, 2011;Wiener et al, 2009). Findings were grouped into five major themes: access to infrastructure, leadership support, strategic priorities and relevant interests, educational tactics, and leveraging established networks and resources ( Table 2).…”

“…While it is important for nursing research to be connected with the greater organizational research activities in order to have a successful program of nursing research (Patterson Kelly et al, 2013), it is also important to establish that research topics are relevant to patient care (Brown et al, 2011;Clifford & Murray, 2001). Relating research topics to patient care ensures that clinical staff are enthusiastic about the work and stay invested in the study.…”

“…It is necessary to provide clinical nurses with exposure to research via experiential learning (Brown et al, 2011;Clifford & Murray, 2001). Experiential learning can give clinical nurses a taste of the practical application of research, which may increase confidence in the research process.…”

“…Literature also demonstrates that clinical nurses who have mentors to learn from are more likely to stay engaged and conduct future research of their own (Brown et al, 2011;Clifford & Murray, 2001;Patterson Kelly et al, 2013). Designing mock studies, where experts in research are available as a resource, allows clinical nurses to go through the stages of the research process through simulation learning (Nixon et al, 2013;Plach & Paulson-Conger, 2007).…”

Effectiveness of an Evidence‐Based Practice Nurse Mentor Training Program

“…Consequently, there is not a clear delineation of a comprehensive training intervention to prepare nurses in clinical settings to incorporate research and EBP into practice to improve patient outcomes. It was suggested that availability of trained EBP mentors are valuable to sustain EBP (Balakas et al., ; Black et al., ; Brown et al., ; Green et al., ; Kinney et al., ; Levin et al., ; Magers, ; Muller et al., ; Rutledge & Skelton, ; Wintersgill & Wheeler, ; Yackel et al., ). Therefore, we developed a multifaceted program to identify and train EBP mentors, create online resources, and develop a formal educational program to prepare nurses to incorporate research and EBP into clinical practice.…”