Individuals Influencing The Development Of Scientific Nursing
Individuals Influencing The Development Of Scientific Nursing
1-Create a 1,100-word timeline in which you to describe key events and individuals influencing the development of scientific nursing knowledge in chronological order. Your timeline should integrate both theory and research development within the same time frame.
-Utilize the Timeline of Scientific Knowledge in Nursing Writing Guide to complete your assignment.
– Resources: Theoretical Basis for Nursing, Ch. 1–2; Nursing Research, Ch. 1
-Provide references for all sources cited and format according to APA guidelines.
In all parts of the world, nursing has experienced a profound culture change. Nurses are increasingly expected to understand and conduct research and to base their professional practice on research evidence—that is, to adopt an evidence-based practice (EBP) . EBP involves using the best evidence (as well as clinical judgment and patient preferences) in making patient care decisions, and “best evidence” typically comes from research conducted by nurses and other health care professionals.
What Is Nursing Research?
Research is systematic inquiry that uses disciplined methods to answer questions or solve problems. The ultimate goal of research is to develop and expand knowledge.
Nurses are increasingly engaged in disciplined studies that benefit nursing and its clients. Nursing research is systematic inquiry designed to generate trustworthy evidence about issues of importance to the nursing profession, including nursing practice, education, administration, and informatics. In this book, we emphasize clinical nursing research, that is, research to guide nursing practice and to improve the health and quality of life of nurses’ clients. Individuals Influencing The Development Of Scientific Nursing
Nursing research has experienced remarkable growth in the past three decades, providing nurses with a growing evidence base from which to practice. Yet many questions endure and much remains to be done to incorporate research innovations into nursing practice.
Examples of Nursing Research Questions:
· How effective is pressurized irrigation, compared to a swabbing method, in cleansing wounds, in terms of time to wound healing, pain, patients’ satisfaction with comfort, and costs? (Mak et al., 2015)
· What are the experiences of women in Zimbabwe who are living with advanced HIV infection? (Gona & DeMarco, 2015)
The Importance of Research in Nursing
Research findings from rigorous studies provide especially strong evidence for informing nurses’ decisions and actions. Nurses are accepting the need to base specific nursing actions on research evidence indicating that the actions are clinically appropriate, cost-effective, and result in positive outcomes for clients.
In the United States, research plays an important role in nursing in terms of credentialing and status. The American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC)—an arm of the American Nurses Association and the largest and most prestigious credentialing organization in the United States—developed a Magnet Recognition Program to acknowledge health care organizations that provide high-quality nursing care. As Reigle and her colleagues (2008) noted, “the road to Magnet Recognition is paved with EBP” (p. 102) and the 2014 Magnet application manual incorporated revisions that strengthened evidence-based requirements (Drenkard, 2013). The good news is that there is growing confirmation that the focus on research and evidence-based practice may have important payoffs. For example, McHugh and co-researchers (2013) found that Magnet hospitals have lower risk-adjusted mortality and failure to rescue than non-Magnet hospitals, even when differences among the hospitals in nursing credentials and patient characteristics are taken into account.
Changes to nursing practice now occur regularly because of EBP efforts. Practice changes often are local initiatives that are not publicized, but broader clinical changes are also occurring based on accumulating research evidence about beneficial practice innovations.
Example of Evidence-Based Practice: Numerous clinical practice changes reflect the impact of research. For example, “kangaroo care” (the holding of diaper-clad infants skin to skin by parents) is now practiced in many neonatal intensive care units (NICUs), but this is a relatively new trend. As recently as the 1990s, only a minority of NICUs offered kangaroo care options. Expanded adoption of this practice reflects mounting evidence that early skin-to-skin contact has benefits without negative side effects (e.g., Ludington-Hoe, 2011; Moore et al., 2012). Some of that evidence came from rigorous studies conducted by nurse researchers in several countries (e.g., Chwo et al., 2002; Cong et al., 2009; Cong et al., 2011; Hake-Brooks & Anderson, 2008). Nurses continue to study the potential benefits of kangaroo care in important clinical trials (e.g., Campbell-Yeo et al., 2013).
The Consumer–Producer Continuum in Nursing Research
In our current environment, all nurses are likely to engage in activities along a continuum of research participation. At one end of the continuum are consumers of nursing research, who read research reports or research summaries to keep up-to-date on findings that might affect their practice. EBP depends on well-informed nursing research consumers.
At the other end of the continuum are the producers of nursing research: nurses who design and conduct research. At one time, most nurse researchers were academics who taught in schools of nursing, but research is increasingly being conducted by nurses in health care settings who want to find solutions to recurring problems in patient care.
Between these end points on the continuum lie a variety of research activities that are undertaken by nurses. Even if you never personally undertake a study, you may (1) contribute to an idea or a plan for a clinical study; (2) gather data for a study; (3) advise clients about participating in research; (4) solve a clinical problem by searching for research evidence; or (5) discuss the implications of a new study in a journal club in your practice setting, which involves meetings (in groups or online) to discuss research articles. In all possible research-related activities, nurses who have some research skills are better able than those without them to make a contribution to nursing and to EBP. An understanding of nursing research can improve the depth and breadth of every nurse’s professional practice.
Nursing Research in Historical Perspective
Table 1.1 summarizes some of the key events in the historical evolution of nursing research. (An expanded summary of the history of nursing research appears in the Supplement to this chapter on ). Individuals Influencing The Development Of Scientific Nursing
