Event Title
Academic-Practice Partnerships: Promoting Research Utilization and Scholarly Engagement Among Frontline Registered Nurses
Location
Central Division
Start Date
26-10-2023 8:45 AM
End Date
26-10-2023 8:55 AM
Description
Abstract:
Background:
Hospital-based nurses provide around-the-clock care to patients and are well-positioned to conduct innovative research and evidence-based practice (EBP) projects to promote excellent quality outcomes. However, most frontline nurses and leaders lack specialized training and occupational resources to effectively engage in clinical scholarship such as research or EBP activities. One strategy to engage hospital-based nurses in clinical scholarship is establishing an academic-practice partnership (APP). An APP is an agreement between an academic nursing institution and a clinical practice setting, connecting nursing faculty with direct care nurses and leaders to provide resources promoting participation in clinical scholarship. In a private, 977-bed acute care hospital, resources to support nursing participation in clinical scholarship were minimal, prompting creation of an APP.
Purpose:
To describe frontline nursing research and EBP-related activities following an academic-practice research partnership between a large medical center and a college of nursing in a southwestern state.
Methods:
After implementing the APP in 2015, participating nurse faculty provided resources to the practice partner’s frontline nurses and nurse leaders to foster engagement in research and EBP. Faculty-provided resources included formalized clinical scholarship trainings on how to: conduct an integrative research review, critically appraise a research article, implement evidence-based practices, and design/implement innovative clinical scholarship projects. Trainings occurred during monthly, pre-scheduled, hospital-based Research Council meetings which were attended by academic nurse faculty, frontline nurses, and nursing leaders over the years. Data from 2015 – 2022 annual research partnership reports describing research and EBP activities (nurse-led scholarly conference presentations, peer-reviewed publications, and number of research studies conducted) were tabulated and compared to documentation from eight years prior.
Results:
Between 2015 and 2022, over 30 acute care frontline nurses and leaders attended a clinical scholarship training session provided by a faculty during research council meetings. Several clinical scholarship outputs were documented, including twenty-nine integrative research reviews conducted by frontline nurses and presented at external, peer-reviewed healthcare conferences. More than 80% of the integrative reviews were presented internationally across five countries and 14% were shared in the continental United States. In all, 15 frontline nurses were mentored to serve as co-authors on one or more of seven peer-reviewed nursing publications. Overall, five frontline nurse-led, Institutional Review Board-approved research studies were conducted and completed. In the eight years prior to the academic partnership, there were no documented research or EBP activities involving frontline nurses.
Conclusion:
Our project validates that APPs are a potentially sustainable strategy to promote frontline registered nurse engagement in clinical scholarship. Transparent reporting of nurse participation in research and EBP activities before and after APP implementation should be encouraged to further highlight the scholarly benefits of these partnerships.
Implications for Practice:
Frontline nurses and nursing leaders can be empowered to engage in clinical scholarship if resources are made available. Partnering with academic nursing institutions who have existing resources for engaging nurses in research and EBP activities may increase nurse participation in clinical inquiry, leading to innovation and improvements that will support improved patient quality outcomes.
Recommended Citation
Garcia, Emelia C.; Long, JoAnn; Smith, Stephan R; Johnston, Lauren; Hronek, Daniel; and Lambo, Karen, "Academic-Practice Partnerships: Promoting Research Utilization and Scholarly Engagement Among Frontline Registered Nurses" (2023). Central Division Nurse Clinical Inquiry Conference. 10.
https://digitalcommons.providence.org/central_nurs_conf/2023/agenda/10
Academic-Practice Partnerships: Promoting Research Utilization and Scholarly Engagement Among Frontline Registered Nurses
Central Division
Abstract:
Background:
Hospital-based nurses provide around-the-clock care to patients and are well-positioned to conduct innovative research and evidence-based practice (EBP) projects to promote excellent quality outcomes. However, most frontline nurses and leaders lack specialized training and occupational resources to effectively engage in clinical scholarship such as research or EBP activities. One strategy to engage hospital-based nurses in clinical scholarship is establishing an academic-practice partnership (APP). An APP is an agreement between an academic nursing institution and a clinical practice setting, connecting nursing faculty with direct care nurses and leaders to provide resources promoting participation in clinical scholarship. In a private, 977-bed acute care hospital, resources to support nursing participation in clinical scholarship were minimal, prompting creation of an APP.
Purpose:
To describe frontline nursing research and EBP-related activities following an academic-practice research partnership between a large medical center and a college of nursing in a southwestern state.
Methods:
After implementing the APP in 2015, participating nurse faculty provided resources to the practice partner’s frontline nurses and nurse leaders to foster engagement in research and EBP. Faculty-provided resources included formalized clinical scholarship trainings on how to: conduct an integrative research review, critically appraise a research article, implement evidence-based practices, and design/implement innovative clinical scholarship projects. Trainings occurred during monthly, pre-scheduled, hospital-based Research Council meetings which were attended by academic nurse faculty, frontline nurses, and nursing leaders over the years. Data from 2015 – 2022 annual research partnership reports describing research and EBP activities (nurse-led scholarly conference presentations, peer-reviewed publications, and number of research studies conducted) were tabulated and compared to documentation from eight years prior.
Results:
Between 2015 and 2022, over 30 acute care frontline nurses and leaders attended a clinical scholarship training session provided by a faculty during research council meetings. Several clinical scholarship outputs were documented, including twenty-nine integrative research reviews conducted by frontline nurses and presented at external, peer-reviewed healthcare conferences. More than 80% of the integrative reviews were presented internationally across five countries and 14% were shared in the continental United States. In all, 15 frontline nurses were mentored to serve as co-authors on one or more of seven peer-reviewed nursing publications. Overall, five frontline nurse-led, Institutional Review Board-approved research studies were conducted and completed. In the eight years prior to the academic partnership, there were no documented research or EBP activities involving frontline nurses.
Conclusion:
Our project validates that APPs are a potentially sustainable strategy to promote frontline registered nurse engagement in clinical scholarship. Transparent reporting of nurse participation in research and EBP activities before and after APP implementation should be encouraged to further highlight the scholarly benefits of these partnerships.
Implications for Practice:
Frontline nurses and nursing leaders can be empowered to engage in clinical scholarship if resources are made available. Partnering with academic nursing institutions who have existing resources for engaging nurses in research and EBP activities may increase nurse participation in clinical inquiry, leading to innovation and improvements that will support improved patient quality outcomes.
