Nurse scientists support teams to expand knowledge
Nurses have always played a vital role in patient care and the advancement of knowledge. Once nurses expand their vision to include research, they enhance their ability to find opportunities to contribute to healthcare now and in the future.
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Cleveland Clinic has created a foundation for research through leading and mentorship, and its benefits are profound. Nancy M. Albert, PhD, CCNS, CHFN, CCRN, NE-BC, FAHA, FCCM, FHFSA, FAAN, who leads Cleveland Clinic’s Office of Nursing Research and Innovation, recently addressed the importance of nursing research in the webinar Achieving Nursing Excellence: Talking Research with Executive Nurse Leaders.
In the webinar, Dr. Albert explains that research requires investments of expertise, time and resources. Her team supports nursing research throughout the healthcare system, where nearly 29,000 nursing caregivers provide care in multiple hospitals and ambulatory centers worldwide.
“We have the support of our nursing leaders, and for that we’re very thankful,” Dr. Albert says. “We understand very clearly that without leadership support, many nurses may not feel like they can be engaged in nursing research. With an integrated model of nurse scientist mentorship, rather than having one nurse assigned to each of the different hospitals within our system, we work as a team to help bring research forward.
“Our nurse scientist mentors each have different strengths and different specialty areas. Thus, their knowledge in different research designs and methodological approaches varies,” Dr. Albert says. “And in that way, they can work very efficiently and effectively to help clinical nurses who may not be research-savvy avoid mistakes that are often seen with novice researchers. We also offer nurses many website resources and additional educational offerings.”
Research resources available include:
“Our two-day nursing research conference gives nurses the opportunity to hear keynote presentations from nursing leaders, present orally, and showcase their completed research via poster presentations. It is a great way to disseminate new research-based knowledge internally and externally,” says Dr. Albert.
Research workshops are offered at each hospital. Nurses select the content for the sessions, and nurse scientists lead the workshops. Attendees participate individually or in small work groups to gain and retain new knowledge.
Implementation science and translation of research into practice are important components of a robust nursing research program.
“Translating research into practice is a very intricate task and involves many stakeholders,” Dr. Albert says. “Without leadership support, communication, collaboration and, often, active work in changing systems, structures or processes, a newly implemented change in practice based on best evidence may fail or not gain the momentum expected.
“Similarly, implementation science aims to bring important research findings into practice by studying diffusion and outcomes,” she adds. “This type of research requires the support of multiple clinical leaders and stakeholders who are willing to change policies, procedures and practices to decrease time to diffusion, so that we can assure high quality care and the best outcomes possible.”
The teamwork approach at Cleveland Clinic makes the difference, Dr. Albert says.
“Having knowledgeable nurse scientists guide nurses through the research process decreases nurses’ stress,” Albert says. “Nurses may be intimidated about conducting research; we aim to simplify the process so that they are excited to participate in research and enjoy getting answers to their research questions.
For information about this webinar or to learn more about Cleveland Clinic’s Nursing Research and Innovation Centers, contact Global Executive Education at executiveeducation@ccf.org.
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