nursing research topics for a 3rd year student

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:) hi im a nursing student.this sem we will start making thesis and i am looking for good topics. i hope you can help me find one. thank you!

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Specializes in Nursing Professional Development.

Here is the best way to find a good topic:

1. Identify general areas and/or patient populations that interest YOU. For example, are you interested in pediatrics? the elderly? adult intensive care? community health? etc.

2. You might be able to narrow it down even further by identifying a major disease, nursing problem, or clinical situation that interests you. E.g. heart disease, skin care, immobility, nutrition, pain management, etc. Has something you have studied sparked any interest in you?

3. Once you have a few general ideas (no need to narrow it down to just one yet) ... Go to the library (either online or brick & mortar) and skim a bunch of journals on those possible general fields you have identified. Browsing the literature will do a couple of good things for you: (a) It will help you identify more specific topics that are of interest to the profession and that other nurses think are important enough to write about. (b) It will help you identify topics about which there is good literature to use to write your paper. It is VERY difficult for a beginner to write a paper on a topic that has not been adequately covered in the literature. It will be to your advantage to pick a topic that you can find relevant literature about.

3. As you browse and skim the general areas that interest you, you will automatically find yourself drawn towards some specific topics more than others. And you will see that there are some about which more information has been written than others. Some literature will stimulate questions in your mind that you would like to study further. Others will answer all your questions.

4. As you skim and browse the literature in general ... review the specific requriements for your paper. Which topics best match with those specific assignment requirements? That's probably the topic you should pick. It will be one of interest to you ... that matches well with your course requirements.

Students make a big mistake when they pull a topic out of mid air (because it sounds interesting) and then gamble that the current literature is a good fit for their assignment. My method described above ensures that you are working with a topic that both matches areas that interest you and also matches the requirements of your school project.

Good luck.

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Recently our school is doing Stroke pt and family

one of nursing manager in rehab ward said

'the client moves on but sometimes the family doesn't; they get stuck'

Stroke patient and family it was really great topic

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What have you thought about so far? Like they said, think about what interests you.

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Specializes in Emergency Department, House Supervisor.

The "research hot spots" right now have to do with underserved populations, geriatric issues, sleep distrubance, brief interventions for smoking, alcohol, and drugs, and palliative care. There is a TON of recent literature on all of these things.

Use PubMed for general stuff and PsyInfo for any topics that have a psycho social bent.

Finally, when you have found one or two articles that interest you, pick through their reference lists for more relevant articles. Stop when you need to stop. Trust me, as one who is currently writing a 25 page literature review on "Interventions to increase empathy in care providers toward substance abusing patients"...I find myself buried in articles.

The best of luck to you!

SyckRN

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How do I save this thread? I've got to start research methods in January. Ug.

Hmm...just had a thought for me if I have to do one "big" project...nurses in prehospital care...something along those lines.

Then again, there probably isn't much, if any, research on the topic already. I'd better think of something with all kinds of data...CPR maybe, lol.

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What have you thought about so far? Like they said, think about what interests you.

i am thinking of "student nurses' depression related to their course" but i am not yet sure about it.

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thank you!! they were helpful!!!

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thank you!!

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thousands of thanks !!! llg

im grateful...... now i can start my research project without worries :cheers:

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