Design of Research Workshops for Russian Nurses to Improve Nursing Practice and Advance Quality of Care

A collaborative effort between two American nurse researchers and the president of a regional Russian nurses’ association led to the development of two nursing research workshops for Russian nurses.  The first workshop provided standard didactic oriented learning activities that included the importance of nursing research in advancing nursing practice, commonly used research designs, clinically relevant measurements, and general strategies for quality improvement and evidence-based practice.  There were 32 attendees and major learning activities included lecture and small group discussion.  Participants of the first workshop were invited back to attend a second workshop 18 months later.  The second workshop was attended by 13 Russian nurses and it focused on the development of research projects that could be implemented in the clinical setting.  Participants worked together in teams to design research projects using strategies from evidence-based practice and/or quality improvement to improve patient care.  Selected theoretical topics were presented to support the planning of research projects.  Specific topics included an overview of research design, appropriate methods for the clinical setting, measurement issues and data analysis.  Major learning activities for the second workshop included brief presentations by experienced researchers followed by small group work facilitated by an experienced group of American nurses who helped Russian nurses develop project proposals they would then implement in their work settings.  Russian nurses eagerly participated in both workshops and it was apparent that their new found knowledge of research was useful to them in assuming responsibility for improving nursing practice at their respective institutions.  Research is highly valued by the Russian culture and this new knowledge provided a sense of empowerment to Russian nurses.  At the end of the second project Russian and American nurses formed learning teams to facilitate the implementation of projects and to establish ongoing collegial and mentoring relationships using email communication