Description
Experience in the Utilization of Nursing Research in Your Clinical Practice
In a clinical setting, nurses must provide healthcare services that address the patients’ needs. Nurses can utilize research to improve their care provision practices in clinical practice. Horntvedt et al. (2018) define utilization of nursing research as the process in which a nurse implements specific research-based knowledge in practice. Research utilization can also be described as a multi-faceted and complex construct evidenced by medical literature’s diverse and multiple conceptualizations.
As a nurse, I have utilized research to improve my care provision practices in my clinical practice. I have researched and applied specific knowledge from different sources to my daily routine. Research utilization in a clinical setting has helped address the issues encountered in practice, such as the emerging symptoms of COVID-19. Researching about such an illness or a challenge in the clinical setting has helped me understand the latest research and gain the relevant knowledge needed to solve any problems since my thinking and perception of the clinical challenge are enhanced. Hailu & Demewozu (2021) assert that research utilization should help address the complex issues in nursing and health care. Nurses must address the issues affecting the industry by implementing the knowledge acquired in research into clinical practice to ensure they contribute towards advancement in clinical practice (Hailu & Demewozu, 2021). I have thus focused on preparing clinical expertise and fulfilling my role as a nurse to improve care delivery.
The positives I have encountered in research utilization in clinical practice include receiving a lot of support from the health care facility where I work. I have received support from different departments, which has made it easy for me to research, implement, and utilize the acquired knowledge in practice. According to Horntvedt et al. (2018), health care facilities should support nurses to organize and use research in their practices. The success of research utilization is based on the interplay between real context, individuals, new knowledge, and organizations. Based on the support I have received in researching and utilizing evidence-based practice, I have improved my capacity to evaluate the research findings locally and enhance the research results to make them usable and actionable. Research utilization has also made it easy for me to adapt the acquired knowledge to my scope and jurisdiction problems.
However, my research utilization in clinical practice has faced several challenges, especially when integrating the research evidence into practice. The challenges are due to conflicts when including my colleagues in research and implementation of evidence-based practice. For instance, one of the challenges observed is an individual’s involvement in research activities, where group members have challenges regarding getting fully involved in the research process. The utilization of research has also been affected by some team members’ poor attitudes and beliefs. Horntvedt et al. (2018) claim that research utilization can be influenced by attitudes and beliefs, where negative attitudes and beliefs can affect the whole process. Thus, my experience in research utilization has been affected by the negative attitude of one of the nursing teams I have worked with. Some people view researching and implementing evidence-based practice as a waste of time. These people operate under the notion, ‘if it’s not broken, do not fix it.’ Hailu & Demewozu (2021) calls for organizations to support nurses in research utilization to avoid these challenges. Nurses lack research leadership and specialized clinical expertise to help in transferring knowledge from research to critical decision-making in a healthcare setting. Therefore, I hope to receive more support from the healthcare facility in researching and utilizing the knowledge in a clinical setting.
References
Hailu, A.D. & Demewozu, M.T. (2021). Research utilisation in clinical practice: the experience of nurses and midwives working in public hospitals. Reproductive Health volume 18, Article number: 62 (2021)
Horntvedt, M. E. T., Nordsteien, A., Fermann, T., & Severinsson, E. (2018). Strategies for teaching evidence-based practice in nursing education: a thematic literature review. BMC medical education, 18(1), 1-11.