Implementation Science Training and Resources for Nurses and Nurse Scientists

Abstract

The substantial push for enhanced patient safety began with the publication of the National Academy of Medicine's (NAM) groundbreaking report To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System. This report revealed that numerous patient deaths occur as the result of preventable medical errors (Kohn, Corrigan, & Donaldson, 2000). The NAM's second report, Crossing the Quality Chasm, provided solutions to address the risks to patient safety by proposing six dimensions for healthcare improvement (Institute of Medicine Committee on Quality of Health Care in America, 2001). Specifically, healthcare organizations must improve to provide care that is safe, effective, patient centered, timely, efficient, and equitable. These dimensions provide the focus for implementation of evidencebased practice (EBP), reducing preventable harm in healthcare, and continue to drive quality improvement (QI) initiatives. Considering that half of research evidence relevant to clinical practice never reaches the clinical setting, translating evidence into routine clinical care requires focused interdisciplinary efforts (Balas & Boren, 2000). Implementation science (IS) was established to develop evidence-based strategies to promote the uptake of EBP into clinical care. The purpose of this article is to describe the differences between QI and IS, the

Advancing Evidence‐Based Practice Through Implementation Science: Critical Contributions of Doctor of Nursing Practice‐ and Doctor of Philosophy‐Prepared Nurses

“…Although many PhD or research doctorate programs in nursing may not have coursework specifically geared toward implementation science, there has been an exponential increase in the number of implementation science offerings within universities, private organizations, and public sectors in recent years (Boehm et al, 2019). Offerings include training and career development programs, grants, conferences, and web‐based educational materials (Boehm et al, 2019).…”

“…Although many PhD or research doctorate programs in nursing may not have coursework specifically geared toward implementation science, there has been an exponential increase in the number of implementation science offerings within universities, private organizations, and public sectors in recent years (Boehm et al, 2019). Offerings include training and career development programs, grants, conferences, and web‐based educational materials (Boehm et al, 2019). Many nurse scientists have participated in these offerings and are now serving as leaders within their local healthcare systems and universities and in key roles for implementation science organizations on a global scale that include implementation efforts, policy development, ethical considerations, and other areas of contribution (Boehm et al, 2019; Costa et al, 2017; Dolansky, Schexnayder, Patrician, & Sales, 2017; Leeman et al, 2018; Sales et al, 2016).…”

“…To shift this seemingly intractable tide, EBP requires an evidence‐based approach for implementation (Grol & Grimshaw, 1999; Van Achterberg, Schoonhoven, & Grol, 2008). Because nurses comprise the largest sector of the healthcare workforce, they are uniquely positioned as “meta improvers” to lead and sustain meaningful evidence‐based change efforts across settings (Boehm, Stolldorf, & Jeffrey, 2019).…”

Perspectives: Envisioning healthcare quality and safety in 2030

“…International standards for reporting implementation studies (StaRI) have been developed (Pinnock et al., 2017). There are also many training opportunities in quality improvement and IS, including those offered by the NIH (Boehm et al., 2020). These resources can enhance the capacity of nurse researchers to lead translational research teams focused on implementing best evidence in practice and improving healthcare quality.…”

Training registered nurses to conduct pre-implementation assessment to inform program scale-up: an example from the rural Transitions Nurse Program

“…Nurses are well-positioned to assess organizational context while facilitating buy-in for evidence-based interventions from colleagues in a range of healthcare roles [ 8 ]. While implementation science training opportunities are available [ 8 ], there are few models available to guide pre-implementation planning. In a recent review of frameworks for adaptation, Escoffrey et al [ 9 ] describe key steps to program adaptation.…”