Nursing research is a professional responsibility, not a necessary evil

AORN Journal, Sept, 1996 by Beverly P. Giordano

A broken fuel pump convinced me that nursing research was important to my professional career. Until "the Relic" stranded me in the middle of rural Indiana one hour before my last college examination, I had been a less-than-enthusiastic student in the required undergraduate research course. Eager to launch my nursing career, I had considered the course -- which was taught in a dreary basement classroom by a sociologist whose dry delivery matched the course content -- a necessary evil. With graduation only one week away and the minutes to my examination evaporating, I suddenly viewed nursing research with new appreciation. Throwing caution to the wind, and hoping my parents would forgive me for breaking the "no hitchhiking" rule, I made it to campus just in time for the test.

RESEARCH IS ESSENTIAL

A quarter of a century later, I still believe nursing research is important. I firmly believe that nurses must conduct and use research in all education and practice settings. If we are responsible for delivering quality, state-of-the-art nursing care, we must apply research findings to our practices. I also believe that we would not be losing nursing positions today if we had amassed the data to document our worth to hospital administrators and policymakers.

Your peers also believe nursing research is important. AORN members who evaluated the May and June issues of the Journal offered these comments about the nursing research articles and reviews.

* Research in its pure form is not interesting per se, but I'm glad that someone is willing to do it to provide a scientific basis for my practice.

* know research is necessary to validate nursing actions, which in turn provides justification for the cost of nurses versus unlicensed assistive personnel.

* I enjoy reading about the background research that establishes why we do the things we do.

* For me, the reviews of research are very stimulating. The scientific basis for our actions is being challenged constantly.

* Until now, I hadn't given much thought to the postoperative course of laparoscopic cholecystectomy patients. After reading the research article in the June issue, I plan to reevaluate my preoperative teaching plans.

* The research article on patients' recovery from laparoscopic cholecystectomy procedures is a good example of the kind of research that nurses can do to promote better patient care.

The Pew Health Professions Commission believes research is an important professional responsibility. In its Critical Challenges: Revitalizing the Health Professions for the Twenty-first Century report, the Commission recommends that all professional schools enlarge the scientific bases of their educational programs to demonstrate evidenced-based approaches to clinical work.(1)

AORN believes that nursing research is essential to the survival and continued growth of perioperative nursing. The Association also believes that research findings must be applicable to perioperative nursing practice and be available to all perioperative nurses. As evidence of this commitment, the Association has an active Nursing Research Committee whose members disseminate information about ongoing and completed research, grant budgeted funds for research, encourage and support development of research committees at the chapter level, and support other perioperative nurses who are conducting research.

The Association recently appointed two doctorally prepared nurses as codirectors of perioperative nursing research. Dr Suzanne C. Beyea and Dr Leslie H. Nicoll are responsible for promoting and coordinating perioperative nursing research within AORN; among the AORN membership; and in cooperation with other professional and technical health care disciplines, corporations, consumer organizations, and payer groups. They are available to provide theoretical and methodological consultations in research, and they will be primary investigators for major AORN research projects.

GETTING STARTED

If you also believe nursing research is important to your professional practice but are having trouble getting started, you are not alone. Three doctoral students (one of them an AORN member) recognized this phenomenon and asked established nurse researchers to offer advice to novice nurse researchers. The experienced researchers emphasized that clinical settings are the best place to generate research questions, and they offered this advice to novice researchers.

* Develop personal characteristics (eg, discipline, intellectual curiosity) that enhance your research skills.

* Keep a log of ideas for potential studies.

* Identify a topic or area of research that you love (eg, a specific patient population, a particular nursing theory).

* Get experience as a research assistant.

* Think small (ie, narrow your research ideas so that you do not try to do too much in one study).

* Network with other nurses who work in similar settings.

* Develop collegial relationships with other nurses who are conducting research in the same field.

* Find a mentor.