FGGTT
IDENTIFYING AND ACCOMMODATING EDUCATION AND RESEARCH
BARRIERS OF RURAL NURSING STAFF IN THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER
DELTA
ARKANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY
L. TODD HAMMON, DNP, MSN, CRNA, CEN, CCRN
Introduction:
Methods:
• Nearly 20% of the nursing workforce
practice in rural settings.
• One in five of the U.S. population live in
rural areas.
• Rural hospitals do not have the financial
capital to invest heavily into nursing
continuing education or research. As a
result, rural nursing staff do not receive
the same continuing education and
research opportunities that are available
in larger urban hospitals.
• Barriers to continuing education and
research for rural nursing staff must be
identified, and a system to
accommodate the barriers needs to be
developed.
• This study was a cross sectional descriptive study.
• Three rural hospitals in two states in the Mississippi
River Delta were used in this study.
• A total of 31 operating room/post anesthesia care unit
subjects volunteered. The subjects consisted of RNs,
LPNs, and ORTs.
• A 23 question survey was adapted from two previous
studies performed by Fitzgerald & Townsend (2012)
and O’Lynn et al. (2009).
• Statistics included: A one-sample t-test, Cronbach’s
alpha, Q-Q Plots, and Shapiro-Wilk.
• Basic demographic data of the subjects was gathered
while preserving anonymity.
Topic offered _____
Cost for Continuing Education _____
Time away from work ____
Level of Interest in topic ____
BARRIERS TO USING RESEARCH
IN PRACTICE
Lack of Confidence in Computer Skills
2
5
Lack of Confidence in Ability to Evaluate…
5
Lack of Support from Colleagues
11
Lack of Management Support
5
Reseaerch Findings Not Easily Transferred into…
Purpose:
• The purpose of this cross sectional
descriptive study was to identify, by
survey, what education and research
barriers exist for operating room and
post anesthesia care nursing staff in the
rural hospitals of the Mississippi River
Delta.
6
Isolated from Knowledgeable Colleagues
Difficulty to Influence Change in Workplace
16
Amount of Research Overwhelming
6
8
Lack of Time to Implement Research
14
Research Lit Reports Conflicting Results
FORNERIS CRITICAL THINKING
Q-Q PLOT
QUESTION 2
3
Lack of Incentives to Develop Research Skills
TOTAL CHOSEN
Time away from personal life ____
Modality of training offered _____
Distance to travel _____
Other ____
2.) Of the following, which barriers prevent you from using research in your
practice? (Choose all the apply).
____ Research literature reports conflicting results
____ Lack of time to implement research effectively
____ Lack of incentives to develop research skills for use in practice
____ Among of research is overwhelming
____ Difficulty to influence change in the workplace
____ Research articles not easily understood
____ Isolated from knowledgeable colleagues
____ Research findings not easily transferred to practice
____ Lack of management support for using research in practice
____ Lack of support from colleagues for using research in practice
____ Lack of confidence in ability to evaluate quality of research
____ Lack of knowledge of how to search research-based information
____ Lack of confidence in personal skills with computers
Q-Q PLOT
QUESTION 1
4
Research Articles Not Easily Understood
DIAGRAM OF THEORY
FRAMEWORK:
The top 2 survey questions focused on barriers.to continuing education and
use of research in practice. Below are the questions as asked on the survey.
1.) What are the top 3 major barriers to your participation in continuing
education (CE)? (Choose only 3 of the following options. Does not need
to be in a particular order).
Lack of Knowledge Searching Research Based…
.
Top 2 Survey Questions on Barriers:
See Graphs for Results
BARRIERS TO
CONTINUING EDUCATION
1
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
Results:
• The top 3 barriers to continuing education were:
REFLECTION
Theoretical Framework:
• Forneris encapsulates critical thinking
into reflection; context; dialogue; and
time.
• Competent practice requires critical
thinking which requires more than just
applying content knowledge to
practice.
Special Thanks To:
Angela Stone Schmidt, PhD, MNSc, RNP, RN: Project Chair &
Elizabeth N. Stokes, EdD, RN, CNE: Student Mentor
TIME
CRITICAL
THINKING
CONTEXT
DIALOGUE
Adapted From:
Forneris, S., McAlpine, C. (2009).
Creating context for critical thinking in
practice: the role of the preceptor.
Journal of Advanced Nursing, 65(8),
1715-1724.
Cost of continuing education; Time away from
work; and Modality of training offered. [t(27) =
363.00, p = 0.00, CI = 95%].
• The top 3 barriers to use of research in practice
were: Difficulty to influence change in
workplace; Lack of time to implement research;
and Lack of support from colleagues. [t(28) =
70.53, p = 0.00, CI = 95%].
• Cronbach’s alpha reliability for internal
consistency for the top two questions was 0.67.
• The Shapiro-Wilk for question 1 was 0.814 and
for question 2 was 0.097 both suggesting
normal distribution of data.
Conclusions:
This study demonstrated barriers to
continuing education and research do
exist in rural hospitals in the Mississippi
River Delta. Suggested
accommodations include an education
collaboration with local universities and
a rural hospital education system.
Administrative and financial support by
rural hospitals for education and
research is needed.