Applying Research to Nursing Practice

Applying Research to Nursing Practice

Research evidence as a basis for scholarly, professional decision-making in clinical practice is essential to provide competent, efficient and state-of-the-art nursing care. Advances in care through research are meaningless unless they reach nurses at the point of care.

 

Linking research findings to direct nursing care results from scholarly inquiry into practices through reading relevant literature. Identifying appropriate clinical problems and incorporating them into the nursing practice is another kind of application

Nurses must read journals that contain research reports, as well as textbooks and other sources, in nursing and other related fields. Within these resources, findings from research studies may be suitable for use in nursing practice.

Nurses conduct research in a variety of settings. Students and clinicians may be asked to participate in studies that investigate client outcomes and the effectiveness of nursing care. These types of research projects are commonly called quality assurance or improvement studies. Data are collected on clinical problems or care processes in a particular clinical setting.

This is not scientific research because the results of such undertaking are usually applicable in specific setting. However, it is important to the institution because the nursing practice can use it to demonstrate the contributions made by nurses to client care.

Clinical nursing research should be undertaken by nurses educated to conduct scientific investigations. An experienced researcher is more qualified than a beginner to undertake a complex, long-term project. Those new to research may, however, make important contributions by assisting with data collection or conducting less complex projects.