Sunday, November 2, 2003

This presentation is part of : Evidence-Based Nursing: Innovative Implementation Approaches

Integrating Research into Critical Care Nursing through Empowerment and Involvement of Staff Nurses

Sandra Devlin, RN, MScN, CHE1, Mary H. Van Soeren, RN, PhD, ACNP2, Fabrice P. Brunet, MD, MHA, PhD, FRCPC3, and Michael E. Ward, MD, PhD, FRCPC3. (1) Medical Surgical ICU, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada, (2) School of Nursing, York University, Toronto, ON, Canada, (3) Department of Critical Care, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada
Learning Objective #1: Implement a similar project whereby nurses assume a research role as part of their normal staff activity
Learning Objective #2: Understand how integrating nurses' expertise in research through greater involvement in interdisciplinary studies fosters nursing research in critical care

The integration of research into practice settings is paramount. Nurses may feel excluded from studies when they are external to the process and their ideas and valuable insights are lost. Separating this process from staff nurses' work fosters the perception that research is not integral to nursing activities. Novel ways to include nurses in research in critical care is important to develop their skills. We integrated nurses' expertise into an interdisciplinary research team through greater involvement in existing studies. Our approach is one method through which we hope to break down research/practice barrier.

To develop this focus among staff nurses, four were chosen and educated in Research Coordinator roles. One week each month each coordinates clinical research projects. Six months after the introduction of the role an evaluation of the process will be completed. Using focus group interviews and online semi-structured interviews perceptions of the impact of the role on the team will be identified. Initial anecdotal reports indicate a high level of satisfaction among participants. Final data collection will be available for presentation.

This is an important initiative to address the need for nursing research as part of interdisciplinary academic focus recognizing the richness of data derived in this way. This provides an opportunity for nurses to learn the research process including integrating new findings into practice, data collection, developing questions for inquiry and leadership in disseminating new information through presentation and publication. This is a new approach to resource utilization.

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