HAVE A
QUESTIONING
ATTITUDE
Greg Durkin M.Ed., RN-BC
When I hear “Nursing Research”
Data


“…we conducted a
descriptive/comparative electronic
survey using Dillman’s4 tailored
design with a purposive convenience
sample of nursing research
representatives from US hospitals.”
“Using SAS version 9.1.3, category
fields were analyzed using
contingency tables and tested using
x2 test and Fisher exact test.
Descriptive statistics were calculated
for continuous variables and
analyzed using 2-sample t test,
analysis of variance, Wilcoxon rank
sum test, and Kruskal-Wallis test.”
Kirkpatrick-McLaughlin et al, 2013, p 11
You’re doing “research” every day


Nursing is always asking questions
Staff nurses are efficient, procedural, consistent
 Too
much reliance, however, on tradition or gut
 “Most nurses use their peers as the most frequent source
of information to guide practice” (Wilson et al, 2013, p 80)
Henson & Jeffrey, 2016; Stutzman et al, 2016; Fisher et al, 2016; Wilson et al, 2013
Why don’t we?
Lack of
time
Lack of
leadership
support
Barriers
Lack of
knowledge
Lack of
authority
Scala, Price & Day, 2016
Support
“Clinical nurses who are
interested in participating
in research studies are
more successful when they
have an accessible
resource they can go to for
mentorship and guidance.”
Scala, Price and Day, 2016, p 425
Yikes

Educating nurses in research?
 No
randomized controlled studies showing best
approaches


Little research at organizational level about
knowledge or interest in research
Poor measures of engagement of clinical nurses -don’t get at interest
Scala, Price and Day, 2016, p 429
It’s best to start at the beginning
CNS
Nurse
Scientist
Get Ready
Implement the plan
What do
you want to
figure out?
How will you
do that?
With which
people?
IRB, Plan collection
Look it up
Select framework & design
Ask a
question
Review of literature
Problem Identification
Research Process, Simplified
Collect
Analyze
Share
librarian
Nurse
Scientist
educator
Manager
NP
online
support
Nursing
School
Nurse
Scientist
Nurse
Scientist
Statistician
Training
program
Manager
IRB
Research
community
Adapted from ANPD Cert Prep Review Course, 2017.
NP
educator
Other
staff
What are you bad at?
Story 1
The most
frequent
topics in
Nursing
Research are
wounds, selfefficacy and
pain.
Kim, et al, 2017

A nurse wanted to explore EBP
Ready to advance, do something different

Bad at dealing with nausea and vomiting



Led to a process that got the BARF scale
incorporated.
Researcher asked “is it validated in
oncology patients?” and a project was
born
What are you bad at?
Think about your work.
What don’t you be able
to get right? Not your
specific performance,
but overall, in the care
of your patients.
Inspiration
Story 2


The most
frequent
topics in
Nursing
Research are
wounds, selfefficacy and
pain.
Kim, et al, 2017
Nurse has a child with ASD
Works in PACU where ASD patients are
awaking with Emergence Delirium
 Saw
a parent place a dog over the child’s
entire body and it calmed the child
 Was at the DDS getting xrays, a lead
shield was placed

Started a process to investigate use of
weighted blankets to reduce ED
Keep your eyes open
Inspiration can come
from any where.
Be observant.
Be inquisitive.
Let your mind make
connections.
Time to think creatively!
What does this picture have to do with your patient care practice(s)?
Collaboration
Story 3




Working on figuring out how many
educators does it really take
Asked for a second pair of eyes
Research idea: validate the change
factor
Research idea: validity testing, general
Talk with a friend or colleague
Talk with a neighbor
about a common
issue in your care or
work environment.
Identify a question
that could be
researched.
Curiosity
Story 4





Increased amount of CBLs
Page turner type > interactive
People aren’t spending time on
instructional design
Goals are being met, accreditation
bodies are okay with it
Are interactive courses better than text
only? Developed a pilot study
Things that make you go “hmmm”
What are you doing
that you wonder, “why
are we doing this?”
Make a list.
Squawking w/ data leads to Talking
Story 5


An advocate for staff, but maybe a little PITA.
The work environment needs improving!
That gets you noticed and gets you
jobs/tasks/responsibilities




Usually not the fun ones
Started critically asking how will a party make
our unit better?
Started to see the value in Data. “Go away,
Dennis” changed to “Let’s talk about this.”
Guided to HWE model and ta-da
What bugs you? Where’s data?
What is bugging you or
needs to be improved?
What data could you
gather or find that
shows this is real and
not just an opinion or
feeling?
Insight
“Insight is one thing, acting on it is another.”
Campbell, 2016, p 656
Why don’t we act?
The five symptoms of laziness:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Should you proceed?

Is it important
to work or
patient care?
Re-think your
question, or
move on.
Are you really
interested in
this topic?
This is a big
effort, better
to change
idea.
Is this new
knowledge?
Why do you
want to revisit
it?


Is it Important?
Is it Interesting?
Is it Innovative?
talk
talk
ask
ask
talk
ask
Get on it, girl
(boy)!
talk
Understanding Data
Qualitative
So I get up this morning and look outside and
the sun is beaming and it’s so bright it hurts
my eyes and it feels like spring is finally here.
When I go outside, it’s like a hard slap of
reality. It’s cold. Like, really cold. Not March
cold, but January cold. It’s freezing out, who
cares what the temperature is, it’s cold. The
mucous membranes in my nose immediately
start to freeze and the sting of the frigid
wind on my face feels like little needles being
pushed into me. My clothes immediately start
feeling almost icy to my skin and every step
is misery as the frozen fabric touches my legs.
Pretty soon I’m shivering as I walk, hunched
over, clutching to my scarf, through the
miserable morning. I hate the winter. I need
to live somewhere warmer and sunnier.
Quantitative



T = 83 F, W = 5mph
ENE @ 11:49am
Happiness rating scale
1-10, ave 9
Is the warm weather
predictive of
happiness?
Rapid Appraisal
The most frequent data collection
methods are the use of custom built
forms or standardized scales.
Kim, et al, 2017
Valid?
Was it done with
rigor?
Reliable?
Would we get the
same result again?
Applicable?
Does it generalize to
my population?
One hospital’s success
Fatigue in
oncology
population
Frontline nurse
leadership styles
Healing touch for
pregnant women
Validating
mobility
assessment tool
Use of mock codes
Influence of
response teams
Lateral violence
r/t job satisfaction
Wilson et al, 2013
Staff nurses presenting research projects
This nurse is investigating whether 30 minute Reiki Treatment can have a positive
effect in her procedural unit
Closing
Anything worth doing takes
time and effort.
“Nurses engaging in scientific study not only
have the ability to identify gaps in care and
practice; they also possess the expertise to
turn their findings into … policies…. We all
rely on their work to make our work and
profession better.”
Cipriano and Porter O’Grady, 2016
Nothing will happen as
quickly as you want it to. One
step at a time.
It’s best to start at the beginning
References










Campbell, S. 2016. Perspectives: Method and methodology in nursing research. Journal of Research in
Nursing. 21 (8), 656-659.
Cipriano P and Porter O’Grady T. 2016. Contribute to building nursing research and enhancing safe,
quality practice. American Nurse Today. 11(11), 14.
Fisher C, Cusack G, Cox K, Feigenbaum K, and Wallen G. 2016. Developing competency to sustain
evidence-based practice. 46 (11), 581-585.
Henson A and Jeffrey C. 2016. Turning a clinical question into nursing research: the benefits of a pilot study.
Renal Society of Australasia Journal. 12 (3), 99-105.
Kim H, Jang I, Quach J, Richardson A, Kim J, Choi J. 2017. Explorative analysis of nursing research data.
Western Journal of Nursing Research. 39(1), 5-19.
Kirkpatrick McLaughlin M, Gabel Speroni K, Patterson Kelly K, Guzzetta C, and Desale S. 2013. National
survey of hospital nursing research, part 1. JONA. 43(1), 10-17.
Patterson Kelly K, Turner A, Gabel Speroni K, Kirkpatrick McLaughlin M and Guzzetta C. 2013. National
survey of hospital nursing research, part 2. JONA. 43(1), 18-23.
Scala E, Price C, and Day J. 2016. An integrative review of engaging clinical nurses in nursing research.
Journal of Nursing Scholarship. 48()4), 423-430.
Stutzman S, Olson D, Supnet C, Harper C, Brown-Cleere S, McCulley B, and Goldberg M. 2016. Promoting
bedside nurse-led research through a dedicated neuroscience nursing research fellowship. JONA. 46 (12),
648-653.
Wilson B, Kelly L, Reifsnider E, Pipe T, and Brumfield V. 2013. Creative approaches to increasing hospitalbased nursing research. JONA. 43(2), 80-88.