Are research findings used in practice?

llg, PhD, RN · Jun 1, 2005

Are you collecting ideas for a school paper?

It's an interesting topic for discussion ... and I have lots of opinions on it ... but it sounds like a school paper to me. And if I am being used as a source (and may be quoted), I like to know before I help someone write their paper.

llg

Rtyler · Jun 1, 2005

Are you collecting ideas for a school paper?
It's an interesting topic for discussion ... and I have lots of opinions on it ... but it sounds like a school paper to me. And if I am being used as a source (and may be quoted), I like to know before I help someone write their paper.
llg

I am defintely writing a paper. I am unable to interview other nurses at my own place of employment and this forum was suggested as an alternate way of collecting information. I can easily stay away from direct quotes and had absolutely no intention of using anyone's name.

Even if you do not wish to be part of the paper, I would still like to know some of your opinions.

llg, PhD, RN · Jun 1, 2005

Thanks for being up-front about the paper. Some of us don't like to "write student papers for them" when the student should be going to the library and doing the work herself.

I think there are a lot of reasons that the application of nursing research is so difficult. One reason is that most nursing research is not at the point of being ready for direct application. Much of it has been done with small groups of subjects and can not be generalized to larger populations.

Other research only considers one or two aspects of a situation and does not take the many complexities of reality into consideration. Most nursing situations are quite complex and the "best" course of action for a particular patient depends on many factors -- too many to be included in the relatively short, limited, inexpensive studies conducted by most nursing researchers.

In short ... when you look at most nursing research with a critical eye, you can usually find a lot of holes in it. And when you go to try to implement a new idea and/or change practice, there are usually people around who don't want to change who are capable of finding those holes in the research. The weaknesses in the research provides the people who don't want to change their practice with the ammunition they need to argue against any changes.

We need more rigor in the research -- and also more rigor in the education of the nurses who will be trying to implement it -- so that they can adequately evaluate and/or defend the studies to promote improvements in care.

Nurses also need more political clout within the hospital system (and other environments) in order to get changes made. Again, that means more education for nurses as well as changes in behavior from a lot of people. I'm not holding my breath.

Earning credibility is a long slow process and nursing still has a long way to go. We need to be worthy of that credibility by improving our educational system and raising our standards in this area. Then we need to prove the worth of our work (and our research) to others. Only then will our research be taken seriously enough to generate enough support for widespread use.

These are just a couple of things I thought of off the top of my head. I'll be interested to read what other people have to say.

llg (PhD, RN)

CHATSDALE · Jun 1, 2005

several reasons..some people don't like 'nurse' research...

also in research you frequently discover a lot of things that look promising but which in the end don't work..this is valuable in of itself but some one who was aware of the research in the first place might wonder what became of it

funding is also a problem...sometimes you don't have the followup to prove/disprove the results of a first test

and in any research there is a time lap [sometimes a long one] between the research period and the time it is implemented on the floor

Rtyler · Jun 2, 2005

Thanks for being up-front about the paper. Some of us don't like to "write student papers for them" when the student should be going to the library and doing the work herself.
I think there are a lot of reasons that the application of nursing research is so difficult. One reason is that most nursing research is not at the point of being ready for direct application. Much of it has been done with small groups of subjects and can not be generalized to larger populations.
Other research only considers one or two aspects of a situation and does not take the many complexities of reality into consideration. Most nursing situations are quite complex and the "best" course of action for a particular patient depends on many factors -- too many to be included in the relatively short, limited, inexpensive studies conducted by most nursing researchers.
In short ... when you look at most nursing research with a critical eye, you can usually find a lot of holes in it. And when you go to try to implement a new idea and/or change practice, there are usually people around who don't want to change who are capable of finding those holes in the research. The weaknesses in the research provides the people who don't want to change their practice with the ammunition they need to argue against any changes.
We need more rigor in the research -- and also more rigor in the education of the nurses who will be trying to implement it -- so that they can adequately evaluate and/or defend the studies to promote improvements in care.
Nurses also need more political clout within the hospital system (and other environments) in order to get changes made. Again, that means more education for nurses as well as changes in behavior from a lot of people. I'm not holding my breath.
Earning credibility is a long slow process and nursing still has a long way to go. We need to be worthy of that credibility by improving our educational system and raising our standards in this area. Then we need to prove the worth of our work (and our research) to others. Only then will our research be taken seriously enough to generate enough support for widespread use.
These are just a couple of things I thought of off the top of my head. I'll be interested to read what other people have to say.
llg (PhD, RN)

Thanks so much for your opinion on this topic. You brought out some really great points that I would not have thought of myself.

Just for the record, the assignment was to ask other nurses how they felt about research in their practice. I really was not looking for an easy way out of looking up information, I was looking for nurses' opinions. That is why I was so up front about it being a paper. I can certainly understand that some students (at all levels) could take advantange of this forum. I'm new to this site and it's great. I plan to spend as much time here as I can.

Again, thanks for the response.

rebeccajfloyd · Jun 10, 2005

Why do you think research findings are not used more often to guide professional practice? Can you think of strategries that could be used to increase the use of research in your practice?

Many nurses in practice are experiencing a culture change of "It has always been done that way" to "Why do we do it that way and how can our practice change to provide better outcomes for our patients?" It is a learning process that many are just starting to understand. We, as nurses, whether the new graduate or the well-seasoned nurse, have the ability to make change by doing research on our units. First of all just questioning a practice can be a beginning step to making changes within our practice. Taking the initiative to research a practice that has shown to provide better outcomes for the patients and sharing with our peers these findings is a wonderful opportunity for us to make a difference. Having been a nurse for 25 years, I believe we have come into some exciting times - Evidence Based Nursing Practice! Stratgies - Start a Journel Club where you review a research article relating to your area of practice and have a round table discussion. Create a Research Committee and do your own research projects within your facility. Becoming involved in Nursing Research provides a fantastic avenue to create change. What better way than to do your own research projects that show first hand positive results!

llg, PhD, RN · Jun 10, 2005

Just for the record, the assignment was to ask other nurses how they felt about research in their practice. I really was not looking for an easy way out of looking up information, I was looking for nurses' opinions. That is why I was so up front about it being a paper. I can certainly understand that some students (at all levels) could take advantange of this forum. I'm new to this site and it's great. I plan to spend as much time here as I can.
.

Thanks for understanding. In situations such as yours, I am usually happy to help a student out. But as you have realized, some students DO abuse the forum and shortchange their education by asking us to "write" their papers for them.

Good luck with your paper,

llg