The Essentials of Nursing and Healthcare Research

Ruth Taylor

• Publisher: SAGE Publications Ltd
• Year: 2013
• Print ISBN:
  9781446249475
  9781446249468
• eBook ISBN:
  9781446293348
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Medicine
• Subtopic: Nursing

For some students, research can be a daunting and intimidating topic when beginning your degree. This lively book helps you understand why research is important, gives a straightforward account of the essential knowledge that you will need and demystifies the language and process of research. It focuses on the skills you will use throughout your degree, and how research and evidence can make a difference to the world you will encounter in practice.

It outlines:

·       What research is

·       Qualitative and quantitative approaches

·       The practicalities of doing research

·       Using evidence in practice.

The chapters are full of practical tools and draw on a range of student experiences, making it the perfect textbook for undergraduates.

Ruth Taylor is a Professor of Nursing and Deputy Dean at Anglia Ruskin University.

PART 1

LET’S GET STARTED

1

INTRODUCTION: THE BOOK ROADMAP

RUTH TAYLOR

Chapter learning outcomes

On completion of Chapter 1, you will be able to:

1 Appreciate the scope of the textbook and its relationship to your learning as a student.

2 Understand the format of the book and the kinds of activities you will be asked to undertake.

3 Begin to think about your own learning, and what you hope to gain from undertaking the activities within the textbook.

4 Formulate an early understanding of the meaning of some of the key concepts contained within the textbook (e.g. evidence-based practice, research).

5 Consider the importance of your learning to healthcare practice.

Key concepts

Evidence-based practice, research, application to healthcare practice.

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to our textbook on research for nursing and healthcare practice. As editor of the book, I am delighted to bring you a new approach to the development of your learning about evidence-based practice and research. As a nursing lecturer who has worked with students for a number of years now (I’m not saying how many!), I have found that students sometimes find research theory challenging. I have talked to my own students (some of whom have given their time and their insights to inform the focus of this book – thank you all!), and what I know is that the language of research can sometimes be intimidating. For some students learning about research can feel irrelevant, and for others it can feel like wading through treacle. Others, though, will engage with the theory and gain great satisfaction from thinking about how the theoretical insights relate to their own practice as they encounter different placement experiences.

In your reading of this book, I want to pass on to you my enthusiasm for research. I would urge you to use the book to engage with research as a topic worthy of your time and energy, to bring to you the excitement of knowing that you can make a difference to your practice through an understanding of the concepts described within the book, and to encourage you to see how engaging with this knowledge can lead to your own personal and professional development, and help towards the achievement of your potential. We have placed an emphasis on the use of knowledge as a way of improving practice and of feeling engaged with practice. On top of that, the book will provide you with the relevant knowledge base and pointers that will allow you to further explore particular areas of interest.

The book serves as a core textbook for student nurses undertaking degree courses. In addition, it will be useful as a ‘revision’ text for nurses undertaking ‘top-up’ degrees or embarking on research modules as part of research degrees (at a Master’s or PhD levels).

The Standards for Pre-registration Nursing (NMC, 2010) emphasise the importance of research knowledge and expertise. The Standards have two major components:

• Standards for Competence.

• Standards for Education.

It is the former that we are most interested in here, although I would like to highlight one key area within the Standards for Education that relate to our reasons for developing this book: the required minimum outcome for a pre-registration nursing programme is now at degree level (you may know that previously the minimum outcome was at diploma level). While many nursing students have been graduating with degrees, it is the first time that this has become a requirement. Student nurses are therefore required to meet a graduate level, as the use of research in practice and the development of evidence-based practice are crucial to the development of this all-degree profession.

The Standards for Competence state that all new nurses will ‘act to safeguard the public, and be responsible and accountable for safe, person-centred, evidence-based nursing practice’ and ‘use leadership skills to supervise and manage others and contribute to planning, designing, delivering and improving future services’. Along with the other key areas in which the NMC state that the public will have confidence in all new nurses, these two statements draw attention to the need for a strong grounding in research awareness and research literacy – these nurses will be in a strong position to provide excellent care and to lead service development for the future. The Standards for Competence are organised into four domains:

• Professional values.

• Communication and interpersonal skills.

• Nursing practice and decision making.

• Leadership, management and team working.

As a student nurse you will need to apply the competencies within each of the domains within your field of practice (adult nursing, mental health nursing, children’s and young people’s nursing, or learning disability nursing). In order to do so, you will also need to be able to appraise the evidence base across the four domains, and apply that evidence appropriately. These skills are at the forefront of what we hope to help you to achieve through your interaction with this book.

CHAPTER PURPOSE

The purpose of Chapter 1 is to help you to see how the learning activities have been planned so that you can use them as you work your way through your course of study. The authors of each of the chapters know that some readers will be undertaking a curriculum in which research and evidence-based practice are integrated into its modules and learning materials: some students will be working with distinct ‘stand alone’ research and evidence-based practice modules, and others will be using a combined approach. This book will suit your needs whichever approach your university uses. It has been designed to enable you to dip in and out of the chapters and learning activities and to go backwards and forwards between the chapters as you undertake the relevant learning on your course. You may even find that some of your lecturers will direct you towards relevant activities within this book in order to help you think about how your learning relates to practice. This latter point (how your learning relates to practice) is, for the authors of this book, the most important one: we want you to appreciate how the learning, the theories, and the concepts are relevant to your practice as a student (and later as a qualified practitioner). My students tell me that it is absolutely vital for their development as growing practitioners that learning activities help them to fully engage with what’s required of them when they take up their practice placements. So whether you are an adult nurse, a mental health nurse, a learning disability nurse, a children’s and young people’s nurse, or even a different healthcare practitioner, you should find that we have provided examples which will facilitate your ability to think clearly about the theory and its application to practice.

Overview of the textbook’s aims and objectives

The overall aim of the book is to enable you, as a student, to develop relevant knowledge and understanding for research and evidence-based practice. What we, the authors, want to do, is provide you with the appropriate theoretical knowledge, offer examples from practice so that you can begin to appreciate the relevance of the theory, and from there give you the opportunity to think about the theory in relation to your own practice as a student.

The book will enable you to achieve the following objectives:

1 To develop your enthusiasm for, and motivation to use, research knowledge in practice.

2 To appreciate the need for an understanding of research and the use of evidence in practice.

3 To apply research knowledge and an understanding of evidence in practice to the contexts that you work/learn in.

4 To value the ways in which that knowledge enhances relationships with, and the care of, patients, carers, and relatives, as well as relationships with colleagues.

So let’s unpick these outcomes a little so that there is clarity about what you can expect from this book and how it will relate to your overall learning. Taking each objective in turn, I aim to uncover the relevant aspects of this textbook that will enable you to determine how you want to use the book as part of your overall learning experience. To begin with, however, Activity 1.1 will give you an early opportunity to consider your current knowledge base, your views on research, and the learning that you hope to gain from working your way through the activities that I, and the other authors, have prepared for you.

ACTIVITY 1.1

Take some time to think about the following thought-points:

1 What do you already know about ‘research’?

2 What do you hope to learn through your engagement with the activities in this textbook?

3 How will you know if you have achieved what you set out to do?

You may have identified that you have very little knowledge about research – you might have heard some of the terms used in research but have little understanding of what these mean. On the other hand, you may have previously undertaken learning which has provided you with a strong understanding of the terminology, the processes, and the usefulness of research in practice. Whichever camp you sit in, you will benefit from using the activities to broaden your understanding and to really consider how research impacts on your practice as a student. In the next section in this chapter, I will describe the kinds of learning activities (pedagogical approaches) that each of the authors will use to facilitate your development.

In the meantime, let’s go back to exploring how the textbook will enable you to achieve the relevant learning. Each of the chapters is described briefly below.

OVERVIEW OF THE BOOK CHAPTERS

Part 1: Let’s get started

Chapter 2: Evidence-based practice and research

This chapter will provide a brief background and historical overview of research in nursing as well as evidence-based practice (and the differences) so that you can start to see where and how nursing research and evidence-based practice have evolved. It will describe the current situation so that you can clearly see the impact that taking the learning forward will have on practice and on your own personal and professional development.

Chapter 3: The importance of research for practice

Linking to the NMC Standards, case studies will be provided from some of the most significant contributors to nursing research which will demonstrate their personal impact both on the profession and on patient care – and from a UK and global perspective. The chapter aims to help you see how undertaking research advances knowledge for nursing practice and contributes to evidence-based practice and clinical effectiveness. The differences between research, audit and service evaluation will also be explored.

Part 2: Let’s make this work: Skills for research and evidence-based practice

Chapter 4: Core skills for research and evidence-based practice

With a focus on the student nurse and your journey through your course (both in university and in practice), the purpose of the development of the core skills is explored. The kinds of skills that are relevant to you – both as a student and as you make the transition into professional practice – include literature and evidence searching, critical review and analysis of the evidence (we provide you with a step-by-step guide and the tools to facilitate critical analysis), and an introduction to statistics (particularly as they relate to your ability to impact positively on practice).

Chapter 5: Policy in research and evidence-based practice

As a student it is vital that you develop an appreciation for, and understanding of, policy and its importance in healthcare. This chapter gives you an opportunity to explore policy analysis, and how it relates to research and evidence-based practice. Examples of evidence-based national policy are provided from across the UK with vignettes that demonstrate how the policy directly impacts on practice. Inter-professional working (which is absolutely vital to integrated working practices) is explored in relation to the policy drivers for practice. In addition, the inclusion of stakeholders (patients, carers, and other service users) in the development of policy for evidence-based practice is explored.

Chapter 6: Practical approaches for understanding research and evidence-based practice

Keeping a research journal or a reflective journal can be a very helpful way for students (and experienced researchers) to reflect on their learning and development. A proposed approach is provided for you to consider or further develop to suit your own learning style. As well as ...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Halftitle
• Advertisement
• Title
• Copyright
• Dediation
• Contents
• About the editor and contributors
• Acknowledgements
• Part 1 Let’s get started
• Part 2 Let’s make this work: Skills for research and evidence-based practice
• Part 3 Let’s get philosophical
• Part 4 Let’s do research
• Part 5 Let’s implement research and evidence in practice
• Part 6 Achieving your potential
• Glossary
• Appendix
• Index