Research utilization has had a history of implementation in various forms in nursing for over thirty years with the inception of the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) project in the 1970’s followed by the CURN and NCAST projects in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s. Currently new terminology has been introduced as a part of knowledge utilization in practice with the focus on evidenced based practice and translational research. The purpose of this paper is to present a model for early adoption of the concept of research utilization into graduate education as an alternative initially to the tradition of knowledge generation depicted in a thesis. This paper will focus on critical analysis of the historical development of the concept of research utilization and the social imperatives that served as the basis for a unique approach to integrating the concepts into the graduate curriculum. An innovative collaborative, teaching-practice dyadic team was formed to teach research utilization and applied projects as an alternative to the traditional thesis option. Nursing leaders, with doctorates and employed by health agencies within the community shared equal teaching and mentoring responsibilities with the nursing faculty. The method of recruiting these leaders will be discussed. The principles of discovery and innovation implemented in the model, evaluation and revaluation of the societal forces contributing to changes in the model and the implications for evidence based practice and translational research internationally will be presented.
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Back to 14th International Nursing Research Congress
Sigma Theta Tau International
10-12 July 2003