Paper
Saturday, July 14, 2007
The Doctoral Forum: A strategy to advance nursing science in the clinical setting
Lynda Tyer-Viola, RNC, PhD1, Jeanette Ives-Erickson, RN, MS1, Donna Perry, RN, PhD1, Dorothy Jones, EdD, RN, FAAN2, and Ellen Mahoney, RN, DNSc3. (1) Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA, (2) Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA, USA, (3) Boston College School of Nursing, Chestnut Hill, MA, USA
| Learning Objective #1: describe the Doctoral Forum purpose, mission and guidelines for supporting clinical based research. |
| Learning Objective #2: describe the role of the PhD prepared nurse in creating an environment of clinical inquiry and evidence supported care. |
The Doctoral Forum serves as a scholarly community for doctorally prepared nurses to dialogue and advance their programs of research in the clinical environment. The Doctoral Forum is one of eight elements within the Yvonne L. Munn Center for Nursing Research at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) which focuses on advancing nursing knowledge, applying nursing science, and mentoring staff in nursing research skills. The mission of the Doctoral Forum is to support the development of nurse scientists, expand nursing knowledge through research and to improve patient outcomes through excellence in nursing practice. This strategic initiative helps to create a climate of inquiry in the clinical setting and promotes recognition of the value of PhD prepared nurses in clinical practice. Key to the success of ensuring that evidence is a cornerstone to all nursing practice is the presence of nursing research informed by and conducted within the clinical setting. Members of the forum include twenty-one doctorally-prepared nurses and sixteen nurses enrolled in doctoral programs who are involved in applying evidence to everyday practice, and mentoring nurses at all levels on the value of evidence supported care. By being clinically based, these nurses continuously evaluate the efficacy of new knowledge application and knowledge transfer on care delivery and impact on the workforce. The forum sessions function as the collaboration and consultation body where members dialogue about current research, grant opportunities and mentor relationships. These expert practitioners have varied programs of research that include nurse-patient relationships, life transitions, symptom management, physiological changes that affect quality of life, the ethical comportment of care, and care for vulnerable populations. Outcomes for clinically-based nurse scientists and for advancing nursing science for evidence supported care are presented as well as lessons learned and future directions for academic-institutional partnerships and global transdisciplinary research.