Setting, Design and Method: The three research committees function within a Magnet teaching hospital serving a diverse patient population. Ev aluations of the effectiveness of these three committees have included narrative examples of nurse's empowerment, the number of evidence-based policies reviewed, and the degree of staff nurse involvement in hospital-wide research projects.

Concept Targeted: To evaluate the effectiveness of staff nurse involvement in research utilization, design, implementation, and outcome evalua tion by training nurses to assume pivotal roles on evidence based committees.

Findings: Nurses have increased their sense of autonomy and have been empowered to assume active roles in research utilization as a result of their committee participation. They have had abstracts and papers accepted for presentation, worked with doctoral-prepared researchers to design related research studies, assumed a vital role in policy revision based on research evidence, and identified outcome measures for patient-focused evaluations.

Conclusions: Involving staff nurses in the research utilization process is an effective way to promote professional practice and enhance patient care in a hospital-based setting.

Implications: Nurse administrators who are willing to fund evidence based committees can expect to benefit from increased levels of nursing pa rticipation in research. Additional studies are needed to document that patient care is also enhanced as consequence of the implementation of nurse-lead evidence based committees.

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Sigma Theta Tau International
July 21, 2004