| |
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Home > The Norman Knight Nursing Center for Clinical & Professional Development > Nursing Research Committee> Research Utilization? | ||||
 |
print page | |||
|
Think about your nursing practice. Why do you choose one course of action over another? It might be because you were taught that way, or because you read a journal article that made you think you should try a certain strategy, or simply because "that's what works for this kind of patient." Perhaps you wouldn't cite research as the reason for your choice, but in a way, maybe you should. According to Granger and Chulay (1999), "You are using research because you are practicing nursing!" (their emphasis). But what we think of as "best practice" can go out of date within a few years. We must be constantly re-evaluating the effectiveness and efficiency of our patient care interventions. Research utilization, the application of research to nursing practice, allows us the means to assess our practice and permits us to validate our current practice, or points us toward modifications or changes that are needed for optimum patient care. Research utilization takes place when research study findings are translated into nursing interventions we can use in our clinical practice. Someone needs to take the results of nursing studies, synthesize them, and develop ways of applying them in practice, with the goal of improving patient outcomes. When this is done intentionally and in an organized manner, groups such as the staff on a unit, a discipline such as a nursing division, an entire department of nursing, or even the whole profession can have available procedures, pathways, quality improvement tools, and policies that are grounded in research. Examples of clinical issues where research utilization has had an impact on practice include fall prevention, pain management, incontinence management, pressure ulcer prevention and treatment, and family-centered care in the ICU, among many others. Using research findings is not always easy, and many authors have noted the barriers to its implementation. One problem is in knowing when to use research. Other barriers include the time it takes to read and interpret multiple articles and the feeling that advanced education is necessary to participate in research utilization projects. However, this is not the case! Successful research utilization projects come from a desire to know more about your practice and taking steps to reach that goal which might include finding appropriate resources. The Nursing Research Committee would like to work with you if you have an idea that will improve patient outcomes, investigate more cost efficient ways to practice, or enhance your professional practice. We look forward to hearing from you! Granger, BB & Chulay, M. (1999). Research strategies for clinicians. Stamford: Appleton & Lange.
|
