We need from nursing research!!

[ainz]

To all of you researchers, nursing needs your help.

There is a tremendous gap in our nursing research. I make this statement as the average consumer of nursing research who looks for things to help in everyday practice.

The gap is that I cannot find, nor can the ANA evidently, research that clearly links NURSING interventions to positive patient outcomes and linking that to positive financial outcomes for the organization and patient.

This is desperately needed since corporations and other entities are seemingly actively trying to diminish the role of the RN and demonstrate that it does not take an RN to care for patients.

We need your help guys!!! Can anyone show me where research like this exists, whether it be done by another discipline or by nursing itself? If it does exist, it is a well kept secret.

Waiting for replies.

[ainz]

Thanks for the references and thanks for the idea concerning hiring a doctorally prepared nurse to help with gathering, analyzing, data/information.

I appreciate your time and thought to respond. Just the things I hear behind closed doors are very concerning. The situation is deteriorating for nursing as a whole. It's almost like the profession of nursing is in a meeting with a fire in the next room. The alarms are going off, smoke is billowing, all the signs are there but the people in the meeting room don't notice and take no action.

Some bad things are headed in nursing's direction if the current trends continue. It's not just in my institution. I am plugged in to a corporation that has hospitals all over the country. Again, thanks for your input and forgive my tone, we all need to work together.

[llg, PhD, RN]

I certainly wasn't offended, ainz. No need to worry about that. I think this discussion went well in that there was no big flaming or anything. Some of us view the situation a little differently than you, but no one got really nasty.

Good luck (to all of us!,

llg

[outcomesfirst, BSN, RN]

Stumbled across this post. As valid today as before. After spending a few years conducting the type of research discussed here, I would share my conclusions (the data is published, but my not politically correct analysis is not) -

High quality care = return to baseline, no adverse events

Patients do better with 'high quality nursing care', with certain illnesses - that is they don't get worse or they get better sooner when measured as a number of RN hours;

High quality nursing care should not always be defined by RN or acuity or staff mix.

People pay for what they value. People do not value high quality care (which must be viewed on a sliding scale, based on the individual) until they personally need it, and sometimes not even then.

The provision of nursing care is viewed as an ancillary requirement (think the cost of doing business) in the product of health services.

The product was a cash cow for years. The new challenge is how to continue that.

Thoughts?

[MomenTs]

Maybe its just that people like me can use the knowledge that is pertinent to the problem---it is finding the information that is challenging!! Again, the people that are in positions of power in our hospitals understand finance, not clinical issues. It is going to be up to us to translate that information about clinical issues into financial data that makes sense to the business people. I need studies that are designed to just that. Can't find them because they are not there, not what I need. I understand why and appreciate your comments and assistance.

Also, in my role I am more of a consumer of research, not a generator of research. I will gladly support research in my hospital. I will gladly help in any way I can a researcher design and conduct a study to address the things I am looking for. The taxpayers may not support research such as I have mentioned because perhaps they do not understand, or are not aware, of how important it is to them when they or a loved one are in the hospital.

Whose responsibility is it to let the public know how important research concerning nursing is?? Perhaps the nurses should start. I also fully agree, understand, and have seen the uncooperativeness of staff nurses with anything that interferes with their ability to get their job done as quickly and efficiently as they can possibly get it done. Maybe studies can be designed to take this into account. I don't know.

Education, spreading awareness about importance and advantages of Nursing research can be a first step.

[Mijourney]

Stumbled across this post. As valid today as before. After spending a few years conducting the type of research discussed here, I would share my conclusions (the data is published, but my not politically correct analysis is not) -

High quality care = return to baseline, no adverse events

Patients do better with 'high quality nursing care', with certain illnesses - that is they don't get worse or they get better sooner when measured as a number of RN hours;

High quality nursing care should not always be defined by RN or acuity or staff mix.

People pay for what they value. People do not value high quality care (which must be viewed on a sliding scale, based on the individual) until they personally need it, and sometimes not even then.

The provision of nursing care is viewed as an ancillary requirement (think the cost of doing business) in the product of health services.

The product was a cash cow for years. The new challenge is how to continue that.

Thoughts?

Interesting discussion. I agree with MomenTs last comments. In addition, joining nursing associations to give more voice and elevation to the profession, particularly in nursing research. Closer collaboration with medical librarians to get research articles and other related articles written and published. I stopped working in the hospital because I felt I was working in an oppressive and regressive environment.