The Changing Role of the Hospital-Based Clinical Nurse Scientist in an Enculturated Evidence-Based Practice Environment

Purpose: This presentation will discuss the necessary transitions in the role of the Hospital-Based Clinical Nurse Scientist  to work successfully in a fully enculturated evidence–based practice environment.

The role of the Hospital-Based Nurse Scientist is relatively new.  Nurse Scientists who are employed in hospital- based settings are educated in the traditional research paradigm and many have very limited exposure to evidence-based practice.  

Methods: The traditional Nurse Scientist views himself/herself as a research generator ¹and therefore approaches mentorship of clinical staff from this paradigm. The overarching goal of the role has been to encourage and facilitate research among clinical staff.  This includes grant writing, proposal development, data collection, data analysis and dissemination.  In fact, the success of the role is often measured by the number of research projects funded, initiated and disseminated by the clinical staff.  As hospital settings become more steeped in evidence-based practice, the Hospital- Based Nurse Clinical Scientist must incorporate and support the principles of EBP into their coaching and mentoring of staff.  

Results: Recognition that a culture of high quality scholarly activity includes both EBP and clinical research is essential in sustaining the EBP culture. 

Conclusion: The successful Hospital-Based Nurse Scientist must expand their base of scholarly activities and collaborate with the EBP leaders of their respective institutions.