nursing research assignment

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Common Assignments: Writing in Nursing

Although there may be some differences in writing expectations between disciplines, all writers of scholarly work are required to follow basic writing standards such as writing clear, concise, and grammatically correct sentences; using proper punctuation; demonstrating critical thought; and, in all Walden programs, using APA style. When writing in nursing, however, students must also be familiar with the goals of the discipline and discipline-specific writing expectations.

Nurses are primarily concerned about providing quality care to patients and their families, and this demands both technical knowledge and the appropriate expression of ideas (“Writing in nursing,” n.d). As a result, nursing students are expected to learn how to present information succinctly, and even though they may often use technical medical terminology (“Writing in nursing,” n.d.), their work should be accessible to anyone who may read it. Among many goals, writers within this discipline are required to:

• Document knowledge/research
• Demonstrate critical thinking
• Express creative ideas
• Explore nursing literature
• Demonstrate understanding of learning activities. (Wagner, n.d., para. 2)

Given this broad set of objectives, nursing students would benefit from learning how to write diverse literature, including scholarly reports, reviews, articles, and so on. They should aim to write work that can be used in both the research and clinical aspects of the discipline. Walden instructors often ask nursing students to write position and reflective papers, critique articles, gather and analyze data, respond to case studies, and work collaboratively on a project. Although there may be differences between the writing expectations within the classroom and those in the workplace, the standards noted below, though more common in scholarly writing, require skills that are transferrable to the work setting.

Because one cannot say everything there is to say about a particular subject, writers present their work from a particular perspective. For instance, one might choose to examine the shortage of nurses from a public policy perspective. One’s particular contribution, position, argument, or viewpoint is commonly referred to as the thesis and, according to Gerring et al. (2004), a good thesis is one that is “new, true, and significant” (p. 2). To strengthen a thesis, one might consider presenting an argument that goes against what is currently accepted within the field while carefully addressing counterarguments and adequately explaining why the issue under consideration matters (Gerring et al., 2004). The thesis is particularly important because readers want to know whether the writer has something new or worthwhile to say about the topic. Thus, as you review the literature, before writing, it is important to find gaps and creative linkages between viewpoints with the goal of contributing innovative ideas to an ongoing discussion. For a contribution to be worthwhile you must read the literature carefully and without bias; doing this will enable you to identify some of the subtle differences in the viewpoints presented by different authors and help you to better identify the gaps in the literature. Because the thesis is essentially the heart of your discussion, it is important that it is argued objectively and persuasively.

With the goal of providing high quality care, the healthcare industry places a premium on rigorous research as the foundation for evidence-based practices. Thus, students are expected to keep up with the most current research in their field and support the assertions they make in their work with evidence from the literature. Nursing students also must learn how to evaluate evidence in nursing literature and identify the studies that answer specific clinical questions (Oermann & Hays, 2011). Writers are also expected to critically analyze and evaluate studies and assess whether findings can be used in clinical practice (Beyea & Slattery, 2006). (Some useful and credible sources include journal articles, other peer-reviewed sources, and authoritative sources that might be found on the web. If you need help finding credible sources contact a librarian.)

Like other APA style papers, research papers in nursing should follow the following format: title, abstract, introduction, literature review, method, results, discussion, references, and appendices (see APA 7, Sections 2.16-2.25). Note that the presentation follows a certain logic: In the introduction one presents the issue under consideration; in the literature review, one presents what is already known about the topic (thus providing a context for the discussion), identifies gaps, and presents one’s approach; in the methods section, one would then identify the method used to gather data; and in the results and discussion sections, one then presents and explains the results in an objective manner, noting the limitations of the study (Dartmouth Writing Program, 2005). Note that not all papers need to be written in this manner; for guidance on the formatting of a basic course paper, see the appropriate template on our website.

In their research, nursing researchers use quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods. In quantitative studies, researchers rely primarily on quantifiable data; in qualitative studies, they use data from interviews or other types of narrative analyses; and in mixed methods studies, they use both qualitative and quantitative approaches. A researcher should be able to pose a researchable question and identify an appropriate research method. Whatever method the researcher chooses, the research must be carried out in an objective and scientific manner, free from bias. Keep in mind that your method will have an impact on the credibility of your work, so it is important that your methods are rigorous. Walden offers a series of research methods courses to help students become familiar with the various research methods.

Instructors expect students to master the content of the discipline and use discipline- appropriate language in their writing. In practice, nurses may be required to become familiar with standardized nursing language as it has been found to lead to the following:

• better communication among nurses and other health care providers,
• increased visibility of nursing interventions,
• improved patient care,
• enhanced data collection to evaluate nursing care outcomes,
• greater adherence to standards of care, and
• facilitated assessment of nursing competency. (Rutherford, 2008)

Like successful writers in other disciplines and in preparation for diverse roles within their fields, in their writing nursing students should demonstrate that they (a) have cultivated the thinking skills that are useful in their discipline, (b) are able to communicate professionally, and (c) can incorporate the language of the field in their work appropriately (Colorado State University, 2011).

If you have content-specific questions, be sure to ask your instructor. The Writing Center is available to help you present your ideas as effectively as possible.

Beyea, S. C., & Slattery, M. J. (2006). Evidence-based practice in nursing: A guide to successful implementation . http://www.hcmarketplace.com/supplemental/3737_browse.pdf

Colorado State University. (2011). Why assign WID tasks? http://wac.colostate.edu/intro/com6a1.cfm

Dartmouth Writing Program. (2005). Writing in the social sciences . http://www.dartmouth.edu/~writing/materials/student/soc_sciences/write.shtml

Rutherford, M. (2008). Standardized nursing language: What does it mean for nursing practice? [Abstract]. Online Journal of Issues in Nursing , 13 (1). http://ojin.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/ThePracticeofProfessionalNursing/Health-IT/StandardizedNursingLanguage.html

Wagner, D. (n.d.). Why writing matters in nursing . https://www.svsu.edu/nursing/programs/bsn/programrequirements/whywritingmatters/

Writing in nursing: Examples. (n.d.). http://www.technorhetoric.net/7.2/sectionone/inman/examples.html

Didn't find what you need? Email us at [email protected] .

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Best Nursing Research Topics for Students

What is a nursing research paper.

• What They Include
• Choosing a Topic
• Best Nursing Research Topics
• Research Paper Writing Tips

Writing a research paper is a massive task that involves careful organization, critical analysis, and a lot of time. Some nursing students are natural writers, while others struggle to select a nursing research topic, let alone write about it.

If you're a nursing student who dreads writing research papers, this article may help ease your anxiety. We'll cover everything you need to know about writing nursing school research papers and the top topics for nursing research.  

Continue reading to make your paper-writing jitters a thing of the past.

A nursing research paper is a work of academic writing composed by a nurse or nursing student. The paper may present information on a specific topic or answer a question.

During LPN/LVN and RN programs, most papers you write focus on learning to use research databases, evaluate appropriate resources, and format your writing with APA style. You'll then synthesize your research information to answer a question or analyze a topic.

BSN , MSN , Ph.D., and DNP programs also write nursing research papers. Students in these programs may also participate in conducting original research studies.

Writing papers during your academic program improves and develops many skills, including the ability to:

• Select nursing topics for research
• Conduct effective research
• Analyze published academic literature
• Format and cite sources
• Synthesize data
• Organize and articulate findings

About Nursing Research Papers

When do nursing students write research papers.

You may need to write a research paper for any of the nursing courses you take. Research papers help develop critical thinking and communication skills. They allow you to learn how to conduct research and critically review publications.

That said, not every class will require in-depth, 10-20-page papers. The more advanced your degree path, the more you can expect to write and conduct research. If you're in an associate or bachelor's program, you'll probably write a few papers each semester or term.

Do Nursing Students Conduct Original Research?

Most of the time, you won't be designing, conducting, and evaluating new research. Instead, your projects will focus on learning the research process and the scientific method. You'll achieve these objectives by evaluating existing nursing literature and sources and defending a thesis.

However, many nursing faculty members do conduct original research. So, you may get opportunities to participate in, and publish, research articles.

Example Research Project Scenario:

In your maternal child nursing class, the professor assigns the class a research paper regarding developmentally appropriate nursing interventions for the pediatric population. While that may sound specific, you have almost endless opportunities to narrow down the focus of your writing. 

You could choose pain intervention measures in toddlers. Conversely, you can research the effects of prolonged hospitalization on adolescents' social-emotional development.

What Does a Nursing Research Paper Include?

Your professor should provide a thorough guideline of the scope of the paper. In general, an undergraduate nursing research paper will consist of:

Introduction : A brief overview of the research question/thesis statement your paper will discuss. You can include why the topic is relevant.

Body : This section presents your research findings and allows you to synthesize the information and data you collected. You'll have a chance to articulate your evaluation and answer your research question. The length of this section depends on your assignment.

Conclusion : A brief review of the information and analysis you presented throughout the body of the paper. This section is a recap of your paper and another chance to reassert your thesis.

The best advice is to follow your instructor's rubric and guidelines. Remember to ask for help whenever needed, and avoid overcomplicating the assignment!

How to Choose a Nursing Research Topic

The sheer volume of prospective nursing research topics can become overwhelming for students. Additionally, you may get the misconception that all the 'good' research ideas are exhausted. However, a personal approach may help you narrow down a research topic and find a unique angle.

Writing your research paper about a topic you value or connect with makes the task easier. Additionally, you should consider the material's breadth. Topics with plenty of existing literature will make developing a research question and thesis smoother.

Finally, feel free to shift gears if necessary, especially if you're still early in the research process. If you start down one path and have trouble finding published information, ask your professor if you can choose another topic.

The Best Research Topics for Nursing Students

You have endless subject choices for nursing research papers. This non-exhaustive list just scratches the surface of some of the best nursing research topics.

1. Clinical Nursing Research Topics

• Analyze the use of telehealth/virtual nursing to reduce inpatient nurse duties.
• Discuss the impact of evidence-based respiratory interventions on patient outcomes in critical care settings.
• Explore the effectiveness of pain management protocols in pediatric patients.

2. Community Health Nursing Research Topics

• Assess the impact of nurse-led diabetes education in Type II Diabetics.
• Analyze the relationship between socioeconomic status and access to healthcare services.

3. Nurse Education Research Topics

• Review the effectiveness of simulation-based learning to improve nursing students' clinical skills.
• Identify methods that best prepare pre-licensure students for clinical practice.
• Investigate factors that influence nurses to pursue advanced degrees.
• Evaluate education methods that enhance cultural competence among nurses.
• Describe the role of mindfulness interventions in reducing stress and burnout among nurses.

4. Mental Health Nursing Research Topics

• Explore patient outcomes related to nurse staffing levels in acute behavioral health settings.
• Assess the effectiveness of mental health education among emergency room nurses .
• Explore de-escalation techniques that result in improved patient outcomes.
• Review the effectiveness of therapeutic communication in improving patient outcomes.

5. Pediatric Nursing Research Topics

• Assess the impact of parental involvement in pediatric asthma treatment adherence.
• Explore challenges related to chronic illness management in pediatric patients.
• Review the role of play therapy and other therapeutic interventions that alleviate anxiety among hospitalized children.

6. The Nursing Profession Research Topics

• Analyze the effects of short staffing on nurse burnout .
• Evaluate factors that facilitate resiliency among nursing professionals.
• Examine predictors of nurse dissatisfaction and burnout.
• Posit how nursing theories influence modern nursing practice.

Tips for Writing a Nursing Research Paper

The best nursing research advice we can provide is to follow your professor's rubric and instructions. However, here are a few study tips for nursing students to make paper writing less painful:

Avoid procrastination: Everyone says it, but few follow this advice. You can significantly lower your stress levels if you avoid procrastinating and start working on your project immediately.

Plan Ahead: Break down the writing process into smaller sections, especially if it seems overwhelming. Give yourself time for each step in the process.

Research: Use your resources and ask for help from the librarian or instructor. The rest should come together quickly once you find high-quality studies to analyze.

Outline: Create an outline to help you organize your thoughts. Then, you can plug in information throughout the research process. 

Clear Language: Use plain language as much as possible to get your point across. Jargon is inevitable when writing academic nursing papers, but keep it to a minimum.

Cite Properly: Accurately cite all sources using the appropriate citation style. Nursing research papers will almost always implement APA style. Check out the resources below for some excellent reference management options.

Revise and Edit: Once you finish your first draft, put it away for one to two hours or, preferably, a whole day. Once you've placed some space between you and your paper, read through and edit for clarity, coherence, and grammatical errors. Reading your essay out loud is an excellent way to check for the 'flow' of the paper.

Helpful Nursing Research Writing Resources:

Purdue OWL (Online writing lab) has a robust APA guide covering everything you need about APA style and rules.

Grammarly helps you edit grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Upgrading to a paid plan will get you plagiarism detection, formatting, and engagement suggestions. This tool is excellent to help you simplify complicated sentences.

Mendeley is a free reference management software. It stores, organizes, and cites references. It has a Microsoft plug-in that inserts and correctly formats APA citations.

Don't let nursing research papers scare you away from starting nursing school or furthering your education. Their purpose is to develop skills you'll need to be an effective nurse: critical thinking, communication, and the ability to review published information critically.

Choose a great topic and follow your teacher's instructions; you'll finish that paper in no time.

Joleen Sams is a certified Family Nurse Practitioner based in the Kansas City metro area. During her 10-year RN career, Joleen worked in NICU, inpatient pediatrics, and regulatory compliance. Since graduating with her MSN-FNP in 2019, she has worked in urgent care and nursing administration. Connect with Joleen on LinkedIn or see more of her writing on her website.

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Online Research Guide for Nursing Students

• Conducting Online Research
• Research Tools

Evaluating Sources

• Organizing Research

Are you ready to earn your online nursing degree?

Effective online nursing research skills can make a tremendous difference for your academic success in nursing school and throughout your career. Medicine and nursing change rapidly, and knowing how to conduct nursing research online keeps your skills and knowledge current.

Successful research includes both how to use nursing literature search engines and how to analyze the information you find. This helps you distinguish between reliable information that supports evidence-based nursing and misleading information that can influence your ability to care for patients.

This guide can help you find and effectively use the best nursing research websites and other research tools, whether you need a writing guide for nurses , continuing education coursework, or just hope to increase your knowledge in the field.

Conducting Online Research for Nursing Students

You can conduct most of your nursing research online, but some sources may not be available online. For example, your school library may subscribe to print journals not published on the internet. Many important books only exist in print.

Your school or hospital librarian is an invaluable resource to help you find materials online or in print. If your school or hospital doesn’t have a specific book or article, the librarian might be able to get it through an interlibrary loan service.

You can use only online nursing research tools if the most significant publications on a topic are available online. Otherwise, consider using print resources too.

Refining Your Search Results

When conducting online research, you must filter out unreliable sources and locate search results relevant to your topic. Fortunately, Google searches and other nursing literature search engines have tools to help you narrow your research to get the most reliable results.

In addition to open web searches, you can use the specialty nursing literature search engines listed below.

Google Scholar

Google Scholar has special features to make it easier to find the most relevant professional literature on a topic. Besides letting you refine your search by date, it displays related articles or other articles by the author. If the piece is available in full-text online, Google Scholar links to the page. If not, you can search to see if your library has the article or can get you a copy.

Google Scholar also tells you how many other papers cite a particular source. While this doesn’t necessarily mean that an article has reliable and current information, it does demonstrate the article’s influence.

The search engine also offers tools to help you manage your research projects and write papers. You can create a citation in several standard formats and save an article to a list. You can make as many lists as you like, such as one for different topics or assignments.

If you want to follow a specific topic, refine your search to give you preferred results, and then select “create alert.” You will then receive emails with new articles as Google Scholar indexes them.

Online Research Tools

Google reigns as the most popular search engine, but many other online resources exist. Students may use several search engines and databases geared specifically toward academic searches. Many of these sites offer free or discounted services to students. Your school’s library may also provide access.

The list below describes some of the most common resources for academic research, including some sites that focus on online research for nurses.

General Academic Research Tools

• BASE : Bielefeld Academic Search Engine offers results in a variety of academic disciplines. About 60% of the indexed documents are available for free. Results must meet BASE’s high academic standards for relevance and quality.
• CGP : The Catalog of U.S. Government Publications allows users to search official documents published by the U.S. government, including current and historical sources.
• CIA World Factbook : The Central Intelligence Agency’s World Factbook provides information on 267 countries and other entities around the world. This information includes maps and data on each entity’s history, people, geography, government, and economy.
• ERIC : The U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences hosts ERIC. This database uses a formal review process to decide which scholarly articles, papers, reports, and other documents to include in its index.
• iSeek Education : This resource compiles scholarly materials from noncommercial providers, including university and government sources. The searchable service allows users to bookmark items they wish to refer to later.
• National Archives : This searchable catalog includes descriptions for 85% of the National Archives’ holdings, including documents, web pages, pictures, audio files, and videos. Users can also view more than two million digitized copies of government records.
• OCLC : The OAIster catalog pools open-access resources from libraries, museums, archives, and cultural heritage organizations.
• CORE : CORE collects open-access research materials from sources around the world and indexes them in a searchable database. The public can use CORE free of charge.

Nursing Research Tools

• CINAHL Complete : The Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature offers a large database of research material for nurses and students. The site provides full-text access to resources, including journals, care sheets, and continuing education modules.
• MedScape : Medscape provides the latest medical news, research updates, case studies, continuing education opportunities, and disease and drug information for healthcare professionals around the world.
• National Institute of Nursing Research : Part of the National Institutes of Health, the NINR provides support for nursing research. The website hosts information on research conducted through their programs.
• Nursing Reference Center : The Nursing Reference Center features various resources for nurses, including care sheets about diseases and treatment options, drug information, information on treating patients from diverse cultural backgrounds, patient handouts, and lessons about diseases and conditions.
• PubMed : PubMed is a searchable database operated by the U.S. National Library of Medicine at the National Institutes of Health. The site provides abstracts and full-text articles from journals, books, and other publications about life science and medicine.
• Sigma Repository : The Sigma Repository boasts an open-access database of nursing research and practice materials created by nurses. Sigma Theta Tau International, the nursing honor society, sponsors this free resource.

When you conduct research on the web, you must evaluate the reliability of your sources. If your information comes from an untrustworthy source, the quality of your research will suffer and the data you gather may lead to incorrect conclusions.

When you need to determine an online information source’s reputation, you can ask yourself some questions to help evaluate its quality. The questions below include tips from Georgetown University and the University of Chicago Press.

Who Is the Author?

Find the name of the article’s author or creator. Then locate the author’s credentials to determine whether their education and experience qualifies them to speak as an authority on the topic. You also can search for the author’s other works or more information about them.

If the source does not list an author, look at the domain to see whether it belongs to a reputable entity.

What Is Its Purpose?

Look at the article and the hosting site. Who is the intended audience? Is the information for academics and experts or the general public? Why was it written and posted? Is it intended to inform or educate the reader, or does it attempt to persuade the reader to view a topic in a certain way? Is it meant to sell a product or service?

A noncommercial source that intends to educate the reader without persuasion is most likely to be reliable.

Does It Look Professional?

When you view the website and read the article, take note of any errors in grammar or spelling. The site’s content should appear clean and organized. Poorly organized content and errors in the text indicate unprofessionalism, as does the use of profanity.

If the site emphasizes images over text or appears to focus on selling products or services, it may not be a reliable source for scholarly information.

Is It Objective?

Academic sources should show objectivity and must not present opinions as hard data. Consider whether the information is fact or opinion. Does the author show any bias? Is the information officially endorsed or approved by an organization? If so, determine whether the organization takes an official position on the issue at hand.

Is It Current?

When researching science and medical topics, students must find the most current information. Scientific knowledge progresses rapidly, and new research appears frequently.

Check the publishing date listed on your source. If it is more than a few years old, look for more current sources on the same topic. If a website has not been updated recently, this also may indicate information is outdated.

What Sites Does It Link To?

The links featured in your source may provide clues about the information’s reliability. The links should relate to the site’s purpose or the topic at hand. In most cases, a source should link back to research which supports the text. Students may find this information within the text or in a references list.

Test the links to make sure they work. If the links are broken, the information may be old or outdated.

Organizing Your Research

You will most likely browse a large amount of information as you conduct research online. To avoid becoming overwhelmed, you must remain organized before, during, and after your search. Remember that you must cite all your sources accurately.

If you develop a consistent system for locating and organizing your information, your research efforts will be more efficient and accurate. Below are a few basic tips to help you manage and organize your online research.

Online Tools to Manage Your Research

• EasyBib : This tool helps you improve your writing, take notes, avoid unintentional plagiarism, and add citations in your choice of style. Options include MLA, APA, and Chicago. EasyBib offers basic services and MLA citations for free. Users pay a monthly fee for additional access.
• Endnote : This software package manages references and bibliographies. EndNote provides research tools and allows teams to share documents, files, and other materials. The software offers student pricing.
• Mendeley : Designed for science and technology research, Mendeley helps store and organize research documents and files. Mendeley manages citations and lets users connect with others in a research network.
• RefWorks : This web-based reference management tool stores the user’s reference database in an online portal. Some universities grant their students free access to RefWorks.
• Zotero : This free, open-source software helps users find research materials and organize their information. Zotero manages citations, documents, and other research materials.

Citing Online Resources for Nursing Students

When you write a research paper or create a research presentation, you must follow a consistent format and include a bibliography of all the sources you used. Several popular editorial styles exist. Science and social science disciplines, including nursing, most frequently use the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, commonly known as APA style .

Alternatively, some institutions require AMA style , created by the American Medical Association. The style you use depends on the institution you attend. These editorial styles establish a consistent format for researchers to follow when publishing their work. They cover aspects of writing, such as punctuation, accepted abbreviations, headings, and formatting for statistics and tables.

Style also dictates a specific format for listing citations, including the order in which the information must appear and the punctuation required. This formatting makes it easy for readers to retrieve sources that may interest them.

Several examples of APA style from the Purdue Online Writing Lab appear below. You can find an expanded list of such examples on the Purdue website.

Articles From Online Periodicals

What is a doi.

When an article is published electronically, the publisher assigns a unique digital object identifier (DOI) to it. The DOI provides a permanent identification code and internet link for the article. APA style recommends that you include the DOI in any citation for which it is available. See the examples below.

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Date of publication). Title of article. Title of Journal, volume number , page range. doi:0000000/000000000000 or http://doi.org/10.0000/0000

Brownlie, D. (2007). Toward effective poster presentations: An annotated bibliography. European Journal of Marketing, 41 , 1245-1283. doi:10.1108/03090560710821161

Without DOI

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Date of publication). Title of article. Title of Journal, volume number . Retrieved from https://www.journalhomepage.com/full/url/

Kenneth, I. A. (2000). A Buddhist response to the nature of human rights. Journal of Buddhist Ethics, 8 . Retrieved from https://www.cac.psu.edu/jbe/twocont.html

Newspaper Articles

Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of article. Title of Newspaper . Retrieved from https://www.homeaddress.com/

Parker-Pope, T. (2008, May 6). Psychiatry handbook linked to drug industry. The New York Times . Retrieved from https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/

Electronic Books

Last name, A. A. (n.d.). Title . Available from https://www.urlofebook.com/full/url/

Davis, J. (n.d.). Familiar birdsongs of the Northwest . Available from https://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/biblio? inkey=1-9780931686108-0

The AMA Manual of Style details official guidelines for writing and citing medical research. The style is maintained by the American Medical Association. The examples below originate from the Arizona Health Sciences Library website and the USciences website .

No Author Name Provided

Name of organization. Title of specific item cited. URL. Accessed date.

International Society for Infectious Diseases. ProMED-mail Website. https://www.promedmail.org. Accessed April 29, 2004.

Author Name Provided

Author A. Title. Name of website. URL. Updated date. Accessed date.

Sullivan D. Major search engines and directories. SearchEngineWatch Website. https://www.searchenginewatch.com/links/article.php/2156221. Updated April 28, 2004. Accessed December 6, 2005.

Online Journal Article With Six or Fewer Authors — DOI Included

Author A. Title. Name of online journal. URL. Publication year;volume(issue):page numbers. doi.

Florez H, Martinez R, Chakra W, Strickman-Stein M, Levis S. Outdoor exercise reduces the risk of hypovitaminosis D in the obese. J Steroid Biochem Mol Bio . 2007;103(3-5):679-681. doi:10.1016 /j.jsbmb.2006.12.032.

Online Journal Article With Six or More Authors — DOI Not Included

Author A. Title. Name of online journal. URL. Publication year;volume(issue):page numbers. Access date.

Siris ES, Miller PD, Barrett-Connor E, et al. Identification and fracture outcomes of undiagnosed low bone mineral density in postmenopausal women: results from the National Osteoporosis Risk Assessment. JAMA. 2001;286(22):2815-2822. https://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/reprint/286/22 /2815. Accessed April 4, 2007.

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The Ultimate Guide to Nursing Assignments: 7 Tips and Strategies

Nursing assignments are a critical component of every nursing student’s academic journey. They serve as opportunities to test your knowledge, apply theoretical concepts to real-world scenarios, and develop essential skills necessary for your future nursing career. However, tackling nursing assignments can often be overwhelming, particularly when you’re juggling multiple responsibilities. In this comprehensive guide, we provide valuable tips, strategies, and expert assignment help services to help you excel in your nursing assignments. Whether you’re struggling with research, structuring your assignment, or proofreading, we’re here to support you every step of the way.

Understanding the Nursing Assignments

To excel in nursing assignments , it’s crucial to start by thoroughly understanding the requirements. Take the time to carefully read the assignment prompt, paying close attention to the topic, word count, formatting guidelines, and any specific instructions provided by your instructor. Understanding these key components will ensure that you meet all the necessary criteria.

Conducting Thorough Research

Once you have a clear understanding of the assignment, it’s time to conduct thorough research. Solid research forms the foundation of any successful nursing assignment. Begin by gathering relevant and credible sources, such as nursing textbooks, scholarly articles, reputable websites , and academic databases specific to nursing. These resources will provide you with evidence-based information to support your arguments and demonstrate your understanding of the topic.

Creating a Well-Structured Outline

A well-structured outline is essential for organizing your thoughts and ensuring a logical flow in your nursing assignment. An effective outline acts as a roadmap, guiding you through the writing process and ensuring that you cover all the necessary points.

At [Your Service Name], our expert writers can assist you in creating a comprehensive outline tailored to your specific assignment. By collaborating with us, you can receive personalized guidance in organizing your ideas effectively and structuring your assignment in a logical manner. Our writers understand the nuances of nursing assignments and can help you identify the most important concepts and supporting evidence to include.

Using a Professional Tone

Maintaining a professional tone throughout your nursing assignment is crucial. As aspiring healthcare professionals, it’s essential to communicate your ideas with clarity, conciseness, and professionalism. Use clear and concise language, avoiding jargon or slang that may hinder the reader’s understanding. Present your arguments and supporting evidence in a logical and coherent manner, demonstrating your ability to think critically and apply nursing principles.

Our expert writers have extensive experience in academic writing within the field of nursing. They possess a deep understanding of the professional tone required for nursing assignments and can ensure that your assignment is written to the highest standards. By collaborating with us, you can receive guidance in maintaining a professional tone and effectively conveying your ideas.

Incorporating Practical Examples

In addition to a professional tone, incorporating practical examples into your nursing assignment can greatly enhance its quality. Practical examples bring theoretical concepts to life, illustrating their application in real-life scenarios. They demonstrate your understanding of nursing principles and showcase your ability to bridge the gap between theory and practice.

Our team consists of experienced nursing professionals who can assist you in incorporating relevant practical examples into your assignment. Drawing from their extensive knowledge and expertise, they can provide you with real-life scenarios or case studies that strengthen the impact and credibility of your work. By collaborating with us, you can elevate the quality of your assignment by demonstrating your ability to apply nursing concepts in practical settings.

Proofreading and Editing

Proofreading and editing are essential steps in the assignment writing process. They ensure that your nursing assignment is polished, error-free, and effectively communicates your ideas. After completing the initial draft, it’s crucial to take a break and return to your work with fresh eyes. During the proofreading stage, carefully review your assignment for grammar, spelling, punctuation, and sentence structure. Correct any errors and inconsistencies that may affect the clarity and professionalism of your writing.

At nursingresearchhelp.com , we have a dedicated team of proofreaders and editors who specialize in nursing assignments. They meticulously review your work, ensuring that it adheres to formatting guidelines and meets the highest standards of academic writing. Our proofreaders and editors will help you refine your assignment, ensuring that it is polished and error-free. By collaborating with us, you can rest assured that your assignment will be thoroughly reviewed and refined before submission.

Seeking Help When Needed

In addition to proofreading and editing, it’s important to seek help when needed. Nursing assignments can be challenging, and it’s perfectly normal to require assistance. Whether you’re facing difficulties in understanding the assignment prompt, need guidance in specific areas, or simply want a fresh perspective on your work, don’t hesitate to reach out for support.

Our friendly and knowledgeable support team is always available to address any questions or concerns you may have. We understand the unique challenges faced by nursing students and can provide you with the guidance and clarification you need. By seeking help when needed, you can overcome obstacles and ensure the successful completion of your nursing assignments.

Mastering nursing assignments is within your reach with the right tips, strategies, and expert assignment help services. At nursingresearchhelp.com we are committed to supporting nursing students in excelling in their academic pursuits. Our experienced writers, proofreaders, and editors can provide personalized assistance throughout the assignment writing process, ensuring that your assignments meet the highest standards of quality and professionalism.

With our help, you can confidently tackle your nursing assignments and overcome any challenges you may face. Visit our website nursingresearchhelp.com to learn more about our services and how we can support you in achieving academic excellence. Whether you need guidance in understanding the assignment, conducting thorough research, creating a well-structured outline, using a professional tone, incorporating practical examples, or ensuring a polished final product, we are here to assist you. Trust us for reliable and professional assignment help tailored to your needs.

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Research Topics & Ideas: Nursing

50+ Nursing Research Topic Ideas To Fast-Track Your Project

Finding and choosing a strong research topic is the critical first step when it comes to crafting a high-quality dissertation, thesis or research project. If you’ve landed on this post, chances are you’re looking for a nursing-related research topic , but aren’t sure where to start. Here, we’ll explore a variety of nursing-related research ideas and topic thought-starters, including general nursing, medical-surgical nursing, pediatric nursing, obstetrics and gynaecological nursing, ICU and mental health nursing.

NB – This is just the start…

The topic ideation and evaluation process has multiple steps . In this post, we’ll kickstart the process by sharing some research topic ideas within the nursing domain. This is the starting point, but to develop a well-defined research topic, you’ll need to identify a clear and convincing research gap , along with a well-justified plan of action to fill that gap.

If you’re new to the oftentimes perplexing world of research, or if this is your first time undertaking a formal academic research project, be sure to check out our free dissertation mini-course. In it, we cover the process of writing a dissertation or thesis from start to end. Be sure to also sign up for our free webinar that explores how to find a high-quality research topic. 

Overview: Nursing Research Topics

• General nursing-related topics
• Medical-surgical nursing
• Pediatric nursing
• Obstetrics and gynaecological nursing
• ICU nursing
• Mental health nursing

General Nursing Research Topics & Ideas

• The impact of cultural competence on patient care in the UK
• The importance of evidence-based practice in nursing for patients with HIV/AIDS
• The effects of workplace stress on nurse well-being and performance
• The role of nurse-patient communication for patients transitioning from adolescent to adult care
• The impact of technology on nursing practice and patient outcomes
• The importance of interdisciplinary collaboration in healthcare for the rehabilitation of patients post-surgery
• The effects of fatigue on nurse performance in the emergency room
• The impact of nurse staffing levels on patient outcomes in rural areas
• The effectiveness of nurse-led interventions in managing chronic conditions: a case study of diabetes
• The impact of patient-centred care on health outcomes for the elderly
• The importance of patient safety in nursing: bedside nurse vigilance
• The effects of empathy and compassion in critical care nursing
• The role of nursing in disaster preparedness and response: a case study of the Haiti earthquake of 2021
• The impact of the level of nursing education on patient outcomes
• The importance of ethical considerations in frail care nursing practice

Topics & Ideas: Medical-Surgical Nursing

• The impact of bedside care on patient outcomes in medical-surgical units
• The role of the nurse in managing post-operative patient pain
• The effects of nurse-patient ratios on patient outcomes in medical-surgical units
• A systematic review of different approaches to patient education in medical-surgical units
• The relationship between nurse-patient communication and patient satisfaction in medical-surgical units: perspectives and recommendations to improving patient satisfaction

Topics & Ideas: Pediatrics Nursing

• The impact of family-centered care on pediatric patient outcomes with sickle cell anemia
• The role of nursing interventions in promoting developmental and behavioral health in pediatric patients
• The effects of play therapy on anxiety and pain in pediatric patients during hospitilisation
• A systematic review of different approaches to pain management in pediatric cancer patients
• The relationship between parent involvement and post-operative patient outcomes in pediatric units

Ideas: Obstetrics and Gynecological Nursing

• The impact of nurse-led prenatal care on maternal and fetal outcomes in African American communities
• The role of the nurse in promoting sexual and reproductive health for women in the UK
• The effects of midwifery care on maternal satisfaction of primiparous women and birth outcomes
• A comparative study of different approaches to childbirth education for expectant mothers and partners: perceptions of control
• The relationship between lactation support and breastfeeding success of primiparous women

Topics & Ideas: ICU Nursing

• The impact of nursing interventions on patient outcomes in intensive care units in a developing country
• The role of the nurse in managing palliative and end-of-life care in the ICU
• The effects of family presence on patient outcomes and satisfaction in the ICU: A systematic review of the literature
• A comparative study of different approaches to pain management for trauma patients in the ICU
• The relationship between nurse-patient communication and geriatric patient outcomes in ICU

Topics & Ideas: Mental Health Nursing

• The impact of nurse-led therapy on adolescent patient outcomes in mental health settings
• The role of the nurse in promoting recovery and resiliency in mental health patients through group interventions
• The effects of mindfulness-based interventions on stress and anxiety in mental health patients: A systematic literature review
• A comparative study of the role of nurses in applying different approaches to patient education in mental health settings
• The association between nurse-patient therapeutic alliance and patient outcomes in mental health settings

Nursing Dissertation & Theses

While the ideas we’ve presented above are a decent starting point for finding a nursing-related research topic, they are fairly generic and non-specific. So, it helps to look at actual dissertations and theses to see how this all comes together.

Below, we’ve included a selection of research projects from various nursing-related degree programs to help refine your thinking. These are actual dissertations and theses, written as part of Master’s and PhD-level programs, so they can provide some useful insight as to what a research topic looks like in practice.

• Nursing Workload and Interventions of Licensed Nurses in Nursing Homes: An Observational Time and Motion Study (Kang, 2021)
• Missed Nursing Care: Accounting for Education, Experience, and Job Satisfaction in Registered Nurses (Bechard, 2021)
• Examining Predictors of Attitudes and Knowledge of Registered Nurses and Nursing Students in Tennessee toward Pregnant and Perinatal Women with a Substance Use Disorder (Patrylo, 2021)
• A Program Evaluation of the Organizational Readiness for Pathway to Excellence at Two Community Hospitals  (Behling, 2021)
• The Impact of Covid-19 Pandemic Policy Decisions on the Wellbeing of Nursing Home Residents in Missouri (White, 2022)
• Battling A Parallel Pandemic: An Evaluation of Sustainable System-Level Nursing Support in Response To COVID-19 (Gifford, 2022)
• Holistic Nursing Process Maps: a Tool for Student Nurses to Operationalize the Nursing Process to Increase Clinical Reasoning (Reyes, 2022)
• Satisfaction and Work-Life Balance in Undergraduate Nursing Faculty: A Mixed-Methods Study (Crawford, 2021)
• The Effect of Mindfulness Meditation on the Stress, Anxiety, Mindfulness, and Self-Compassion Levels of Nursing Students (Heinrich, 2022)
• Effectiveness of Simulation-Based Case Studies in Undergraduate Nursing Students (Becnel, 2022)
• A Telehealth Simulation Experiment: Exploring Prebriefing (Owen, 2022)
• Perceptions of Lateral Violence Among Vocational Nursing Students, Associate Degree Nursing Students, and Bachelor’s Degree Nursing Students (Martha, 2022)
• Nurse Educators’ Description of Ethics from a Disciplinary Perspective: A Qualitative Descriptive Research Study (Cuchetti, 2022)
• A Literature Review of the Relationship Between Oral Health and Pneumonia Risk in the Geriatric Nursing Home Population (Swift, 2021)

Looking at these titles, you can probably pick up that the research topics here are quite specific and narrowly-focused , compared to the generic ones presented earlier. This is an important thing to keep in mind as you develop your own research topic. That is to say, to create a top-notch research topic, you must be precise and target a specific context with specific variables of interest . In other words, you need to identify a clear, well-justified research gap.

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NURS 300 - Reading & Writing in Nursing Studies

• Introduction to Nursing Research
• Journal Article Databases
• Getting full-text articles
• Recognizing a Primary Research Article
• General Health Information
• Citing Sources
• Avoiding Plagiarism
• Frequently Requested Definitions
• Contact a Librarian
• Class Handouts

Introduction – Read This Box!

Finding research materials to complete assignments for nursing can sometimes be difficult, but nursing students are smart, intelligent people, and are up to the challenge!

Follow each step below and use the instructions and resources on this page to help you find materials to complete your research assignments. View all five steps then review the sample search at the bottom of the page. 

Read the rubric for your assignment(s) so you know what type of research you are expected to find for your particular assignment(s).

This is very important! When you are searching any database from the Halle Library, e.g., CINAHL , DO NOT CHECK the Linked to Full Text boxes ever . Doing this inhibits the green Find Text+ icon from accessing all of the full text materials that are available.

Read the materials and watch the videos linked below in the exact order in which they are listed. Each one explains a skill or a piece of information that will guide you to the next step and help you complete the assignment.  

Videos to Watch and Materials to Read

  https://guides.emich.edu/ld. php?content_id=42662440   https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=9dwQdDUV_dQ&feature=youtu.be  

5)  CINAHL -  Limiting by Language  -  https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=r725aqglgiM&feature= youtu.be

Look at the topics from the table below. Evaluate which keyword or phrase from the table below most closely matches your research topic, then carefully select your keywords. Some of these keywords & phrases are more specific than others. Remember, the terms below are just a few ideas. You can always type in your own keywords.

In CINAHL , it is sometimes possible to locate more specific terms by searching the CINAHL Subject Headings . This is done by logging into CINAHL , clicking on the link located on the top of the page, on the blue bar called, CINAHL Subject Headings .  Here is a short video that explains how to do optional activity:  https://guides.emich.edu/c.php?g=653525&p=5516023&preview=5ef4d05ab8949abfaaf109e4c93573e9

CINAHL Keywords or Search Terms Commonly Used for Nursing Research Topics

A Sample Search

In this imaginary assignment, the topic I’m interested in researching centers around patient safety and how many patients are assigned to each nurse on a given shift.

Step #1 – I look over the keywords and phrases from the table above and decide that “nurse patient ratio” and “patient safety” most closely capture my topic. So, I copy and paste the search into the CINAHL search boxes. (By the way, it doesn’t matter which keyword or phrase is placed in which search box. Each box is treated equally.)

First search box: “nurse patient ratio”

Second search box : “patient safety”

I have read my assignment’s rubric, so I know I have to select a research-based article from a peer reviewed journal from the last 10 years, and I only read and speak the English language. So, I scroll down the Advanced Search page under the Search Options section and I:

• DO NOT check the box in front of Linked Full Text

Do check the box in front of:

• Research Article
• English Language (unless I’m fluent in another language)
• Scholarly (Peer Reviewed) Journals
• In the Published Date area, in the Year box, I type in 2010 in one box and 2020 in the other box
• Next: Journal Article Databases >>

'Basic Research & Writing Skills in Nursing' Workshop Video

• 'Basic Research & Writing Skills in Nursing' Workshop Video
• Last Updated: Feb 23, 2024 1:18 PM
• URL: https://guides.emich.edu/nurs300

Curse of a Nurse

Exposed to the golden wind in awakening there is limitless life, liberation, and love in holy harmony, health, and happiness, writing a nursing research question – undergraduate nursing.

Most undergraduate BSN students take a Research and Evidence-Based Practice course. Students are often assigned a small research project or review paper. The assignment begins with writing either a research question, or a clinical question. Usually, the student is given a range of topics, but let’s assume the student is starting from scratch. A good research question is essential to good research and not only answering a question but filling the gaps. I suggest you start my thinking of a research paper as a “who done it” story. Who killed X. What is your method going to be for figuring out who the killer is. Then you apply methods to the facts. Next you identify the killer using for example fingerprints, interrogations, and ballistic testing of the bullet. After you have the evidence, your results, you discuss the results. Finally, discuss the effectiveness of the methods. You conclude by saying in the future you can use these methods to do X, Y, and Z.

STEP 1: Review Variables

Before you start thinking about writing a research question it is good to review the difference between independent and dependent variables.

• Independent variable – a variable that is presumed to influence another variable. It is the variable the researcher can manipulate.
• Dependent variable –the effect. Its value depends on changes in the independent variable. It is what is being measured.

You will also need an operational definition, so it is possible to measure and manipulate the variable. The operational definition is essentially your measure.

STEP 2: Find a Topic and then Narrow

What is your research problem? It should be an area of concern where there is a gap in knowledge necessary for good nursing practice.

STEP 3: Narrow the Topic

Even if a broad area is given, you still need to narrow the topic. Some ways to do that include:

• Choose an interesting topic from within the scope of your assignment.
• Start with general references sources. Most universities have a search engine such as WorldCat for books, journals, articles, and more. Another place to start may be GoogleScholar. You only need a few articles to see what scholars in the area are doing and to help narrow your topic.
• Are there subtopics?
• Do the subtopics raise any specific questions?
• What is of specific interest to you?
• Are there how and why questions about this topic I should ask?
• Consider who your intended audience is for your research. There may be a tendency to think it is your class or your professor, but I suggest you think broader and decide who you want to be your audience, not who the class requires.
• Identify a theory or research finding within the assignment that needs further testing.
• Consider a patient care experience that impacted on the nurse’s or the patient’s experience.
• Talk to your colleagues and classmates. Be willing to question authority. Too much of what we do results from the way it has always been.
• Identify a knowledge gap.
• Apply personal experience and take the time to consider what is important to you. The research question should be more than a class assignment. It is an opportunity to express your concern about what matters and your commitment to taking responsibility for what happens to patients and nurses.
• Make a final research question selection by considering whether the idea is innovative, significant, reasonable, ethical, and will promote health equity.

STEP 3: Write Your Research Question

The FINER criteria are one way to write a good question (Hulley et al., 2007).

• The question should be feasible . Focus on one problem that can be accomplished within the semester and the time allotted for the assignment and is within your ability. Try not to have more than one or two variables.
• The question should be interesting to you. Even within limited topic made available to you choose what is most interesting and tweak it. If you are interested in the topic you will be more motivated.
• The question should be novel . You should bring new insights to the chosen topic. This may include confirming or expanding on prior research. There must be primary and secondary sources available to help answer your question.
• The question must be ethical and avoid any deceptive practices, such as only including articles that support your conclusion. Your research question and study must be able to be approved by appropriate review boards or authorities.
• The questions should be relevant to the assignment and of interest to nursing. It should also be relevant to public interest.

Ratan et al. (2019) add to FINER in their research question guide. They suggested the purpose of your paper and should be feasible, interesting, novel, ethical, relevant, manageable, appropriate, have potential value and publishability, and be systematic (Read more: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6322175/ ).

• A manageable question can be managed by the researcher.
• The research question should be appropriate logically and scientifically.
• The research should have significant health impact and be of value and publishable .

Draft your research question based on what you hope to achieve. You can have primary and secondary research questions but remember that more questions generally mean more time and resources. McCombes (2019) suggest the table below as a way to consider drafting your research question.

Many nurses use the PICOT framework to construct research questions. If you prefer the PICOT format then follow this format.

• P – patient or population (age, gender, location, characteristics)
• I – intervention (diagnostic test, exposure, management strategy)
• C – comparison group (a comparison to the intervention or indicator)
• O – outcome (what are the consequences of the intervention)
• T – timeframe or type of the study (time periods that should be considered or study types most likely to have relevant information)

STEP 4: Evaluate Your Question

• Can you identify the relationship between the variables?
• Did you indicate the population to be studied?
• Did you identify a problem that can be addressed (in the time available)?

STEP 5: Making your research question strong

Focused, clear, feasible, specific, and researchable, complex and arguable, relevant, original, and clear.

Burns, N. and Grove, S.K. (2001) The Practice of Nursing Research: Conduct, Critique, and Utilization, 5 th ed. Elsevier Saunders.

Hulley, S.B., Summings, S.R., Browner, W.S., Grady, D.G., Newman, T.B. (2007) Desiging Clinical Research. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Kerlinger, F.N. (1979) Behavioral Research: A Conceptual Approach. Holt, Rinehart and Winston.

McCombes, S. (2021) Developing strong research questions. Scribbr. https://www.scribbr.com/research-process/research-questions/

Polit, D. and Beck. C.T. (2022) Essential of Nursing Research: Appraising Evidence for Nursing Practice, 10 th Ed. Wolters Kluwer.

Ratan, S. K., Anand, T., & Ratan, J. (2019). Formulation of Research Question – Stepwise Approach.  Journal of Indian Association of Pediatric Surgeons ,  24 (1), 15–20. https://doi.org/10.4103/jiaps.JIAPS_76_18 .

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Nursing Research

• Finding Nursing Books
• Overview - Finding Current Nursing Articles

Sample Assignment

• Searching CINAHL Complete
• Searching OVID Nursing Full Text Plus
• Accessing NCLEX Test Prep
• Films on Demand - Streaming Video
• Research Question
• Purpose Statement
• Literature Review
• Informed Consent
• Data Collection
• Data Analysis
• Discussion of Findings/Conclusion/Implications, and
• Recommendations for Future Research.  

Article Critique # 1

What is the problem or research question?

What nursing theory was being tested?

15 pts

What were the findings of the literature review?

Was informed consent obtained? Was IRB Approval Required?

10 pts

How were the data collected and analyzed?

   10 pts                      0 Pts

   Full  Marks            No Marks  

What were the findings of the study?

What were the themes identified in the discussion of the findings?

What were the research implications?

 Total Points

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• Next: Searching CINAHL Complete >>
• Last Updated: Jan 18, 2024 9:52 AM
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Nursing Research Methodology Guide

Nursing research is an art of scientific investigation that aims to solve healthcare problems or nursing issues. It uses disciplined methods to collect and analyze data to develop meaningful findings that help solve problems.

Research helps provide evidence pertinent to making sound decisions in a clinical setting. To properly conduct research, one must select appropriate research methods that facilitate systematic study planning, data collection, and information inquiry. When designing nursing research, you must understand what research methodologies are.

This article will explore research methodologies, why they are essential in nursing, the different types of research methods, and their characteristics.

Importance of Research Methodologies in Nursing Education

Research methodologies outline all the procedures, methods, and techniques used in a research study. They allow for data collection, analysis, and interpretation.

Research methodologies are instrumental in answering questions that are encountered in clinical practice. It details the researcher's valid and reliable approach to fulfilling their goals and objectives.

A sound research methodology can help in providing the following benefits.

• Give other researchers enough information to replicate their research.
• In case of any criticism, the researcher can return to their methodology to explain the approach used.
• Provides a specific plan for researchers to follow.
• It allows researchers to select the proper methods to fulfill their objectives.

Role of Research in Nursing Practice and Education

In nursing, research is the systematic investigation of developing relevant knowledge about issues that are important to nurses, such as practice, education, and administration. Since nurses are healthcare professionals, they do not only work in hospitals.

The scope of nursing practice is broad, and the (nurses) work in different sectors. Some work in teaching, and others in community health, business, government agencies, etc. Hence, the scope of nursing is getting wider, with many responsibilities. The responsibility of taking care of patients is vested in nurses. They deal with nursing problems and know the treatment options required by each patient, which treatment they should focus on, and which to terminate.

Adequately conducted research can provide evidence that helps healthcare professionals provide quality healthcare to patients and support nursing practices.

High-quality research allows professional growth by giving them the most accurate tools and opportunities to advance their nursing specialty.

Nurses had difficulty caring for patients before clinical hospitals or hospices were more specialized. However, now they rely heavily on research findings to reduce mortality risk and improve patient outcomes.

Nursing research of high quality means the study has answered an important question. It also means that the findings have an actual impact in terms of how care will be carried out to patients and teaching nursing students.

Nurses also have to inform their patients about the recent development in healthcare that can help them make informed decisions about their health or that of their loved ones.

Nursing students pursuing the RN and BSN programs can learn how to retrieve data, review, critique, and apply the results from the research.

Some other reasons why research is vital in nursing practice and education include the following:

• Nursing staff can gain more profound knowledge of various topics
• Conduct a careful and comprehensive search on diagnosis and other patient problems
• Come up with new and better ways to take care of the patient
• Improve nursing standards
• Minimize daily nursing challenges
• Update information on various fields where nurses are involved
• To solve day-to-day obstacles

Hence, research is an integral part of nursing practice. Nurses should rely on research to improve their knowledge, answer pertinent patient questions and provide high-quality care to those under their care.

How Research Methodologies Help Nurses Develop Evidence-based Practice

Evidence-based practices use the best available facts and evidence to improve patient care and outcomes. Essentially, it is a holistic process that integrates the following key elements: scientific research, the expertise of a healthcare professional, and the patient's perspective and preferences.

Studies show that patient outcomes improve significantly when nurses do their work in an evidence-based manner.

Nurses must understand research methodologies because they help advance nursing practice. Nurses use these methodologies to collect evidence-based information in decision-making, enhancing medical delivery and care for patients.

Research findings will offer nurses evidence-based data to develop new ways to assess, evaluate and deliver nursing care.

Types of Research Methodologies in Nursing

Research in nursing must be of high quality to yield valuable results. Nurses must have extensive knowledge and apply relevant evidence in their practice. This evidence can sometimes be in the form of research findings, filling the gaps in knowledge and expertise.

The methods primarily used in nursing to collect and analyze research may be qualitative or quantitative. Selecting the preferred methods solely relies on the one conducting the research. These methods inform nursing practice. Some research questions are best studied through qualitative methods, while others work well with quantitative methods.

However, researchers have recently adopted the best and most desirable methods. However, this is not to say that other methods do not work.

All three methods contribute immensely to nursing. Data collected in quantitative research provides a deeper understanding of everything in the social world. Qualitative data helps in understanding people's feelings, thoughts, and behaviors. The mixed method uses both data to gain a much deeper understanding of complex matters.

Mixed Methods Nursing Research

Mixed method research, also known as multimethodology, involves using elements of both qualitative and quantitative research to find answers to research questions. This aims to help you develop a complete picture since it integrates all the benefits of both methods.

In this method, researchers collect qualitative and quantitative data to conduct a study. This method has grown so much in nursing because of the increasing complexity of delivering proper healthcare. Researchers draw the strengths of the two methods and use them to draw perspective on intricate research topics. Using this method can deepen the understanding of all nursing phenomena.

Mixed methods involve purposefully combining methods in data collection, analysis, and interpretation of findings. The key word here is mixing. Remember that mixed research does not just mean collecting qualitative and quantitative data. You must consider how you will integrate them to come up with coherent conclusions.

Characteristics of Mixed-methods Research

As mentioned, mixed methods are all about collecting and analyzing both qualitative and quantitative data. This mixing of data is a unique aspect of mixed-method research. Mixing data allows a researcher to understand more about a problem than using either data alone.

The following are characteristics of mixed research.

• It involves the analysis of both qualitative and quantitative data
• There is the collection of qualitative and quantitative data in response to a hypothesis
• There is a need for convincing and meticulous procedures when using qualitative and quantitative methods of research
• It involves carefully integrating these two data collected by either emerging or embedding them.
• There is the use of a research approach that is based on a theoretical foundation.
• Using a specific mixed-method plan involving a concurrent integration

The following are examples of studies in healthcare that used mixed-method research.

• A Mixed Methods Research Study of Parental Perceptions of Physical Activity and Quality of Life of Children Under Home Lock Down in the COVID-19 Pandemic
• A mixed methods study on evaluating the performance of a multi-strategy national health program to reduce maternal and child health disparities in Haryana, India
• A mixed methods case study exploring the impact of membership in a multi-activity, multicenter community group on the social well-being of older adults

Qualitative Research in Nursing

Qualitative research is collecting, analyzing, and interpreting information about non-numerical data. This data is observed but cannot be measured. It includes opinions, thoughts, feelings, words, and behaviors. This research helps in understanding concepts and thoughts.

Qualitative research is mainly used to understand concepts that are not familiar. In nursing, qualitative research helps in generating evidence and determining patient preferences. It helps provide a deeper understanding of others and interpret their meanings and behaviors.

Generally, one will use qualitative research if one wants to know more about:

• Perceptions
• Representations
• Or anything subjective

Characteristics of Qualitative Research Method

Any good research must start from a reasonable starting position or a theoretical perspective. Quantitative research involves a positivist perspective whereby a researcher objectively and systematically obtains evidence to prove a hypothesis.

The following are characteristics of qualitative research.

• Researchers collect information from the source of the problem. They go where the participants are to collect the data. This information is collected by directly talking to the participants and seeing them in their natural habitat.
• The qualitative researcher is the key instrument. What this means is that they collect information through observation or direct interviews. They do not rely on questionnaires used by other researchers.
• It involves building patterns of information and themes from the ground up. On the other hand, build it up from separate data to a reasonable conclusion.
• Data is collected from multiple sources rather than relying on a single source.
• The researchers strive to understand the meaning of the data collected from the participants instead of summarizing what other researchers have found out.
• Researchers use perspectives such as cultural concepts, gender differences, race, etc., to collect data.
• Researchers make their own interpretations of what they have observed, seen, and heard. Because of this, there are usually different interpretations from researchers.
• Qualitative researchers aim to create a complete picture of the problem or question they are studying.

The following are examples of nursing research that has used qualitative methods are:

• The Work of Breastfeeding Among Women of Low Socioeconomic Status: A Qualitative Meta-synthesis
• Stressors Among Healthcare Workers: A Summative Content Analysis
• End-of-Life Care for Transgender Older Adults

Quantitative Research in Nursing

Quantitative research, also known as empirical research, collects numerical data that helps understand an existing hypothesis. In other words, this research is based on what can be measured accurately and precisely. This method is important because it helps collect and analyze more information. A complex problem can be reduced and restructured to several variables, resulting in factual, reliable, and generalizable data. One must therefore have background knowledge in mathematics and statistical skills.

Generally, researchers should use quantitative research if they aim to understand more about the following:

• Measurable differences
• Or anything else that is objective

Characteristics of Quantitative Research

Quantitative research uses statistics to make sense of something. It also involves making generalizations from data used to test theories about attitudes and behaviors. Quantitative data aims at clarifying any fuzziness that exists in qualitative data. The numerical insights provided will help you formulate a conclusion.

Here are the characteristics of quantitative research.

• All the methods used in collecting data are adequately structured. They also contain items requiring measurability, such as age, highest education, salary range, etc.
• It uses typically structured data collection methods such as polls, surveys, and questionnaires. These methods help draw the preferences of the participants.
• It relies on large sample sizes to collect data. Researchers conduct their study on a large number of participants to ensure reliability.
• Participants in the research are subjected to close-ended questions. Therefore, the results of these findings are less vague and limit the chances of participants providing wrong information.
• The information collected in quantitative research can be used multiple times.
• It uses close-ended questions, which are more specific than open-ended questions. Responses to open-ended questions are specific and scattered. One must have specific skills to select the needed answers.
• The outcomes from quantitative research are always in numerical form. For example, the answers can be presented in percentage form.
• Many researchers use previous research to analyze previous studies' outcomes to develop their own hypotheses.
• The outcomes of the quantitative study are used to provide a generalization for the whole population. This is because the study is conducted on a large sample size.

The following are examples of nursing studies that used quantitative research.

• Quantitative research on the impact of COVID-19 on frontline nursing staff at a military hospital in Saudi Arabia

Steps in Conducting Nursing Research

Research findings help provide a deeper understanding of how to care for patients.

The following are steps that help in conducting high-quality nursing research.

Step 1: Identify the problem / develop a Hypothesis

When conducting research, researchers try to find answers to a problem. Therefore, it is logical that the first step should be to identify the problem and then come up with the research question. For instance, if the goal is to find out whether there is a link between taking milk chocolate and type II diabetes in adults, one can pose the following hypothesis: Adults who take 20mg of chocolate milk every day have a higher chance of getting type 2 diabetes than those who consume only 10mg a day.

Identifying the keywords in your question is important. In this case, Type II diabetes, 20mg more, adults.

One must consider stating the problem clearly and unambiguously. Remember that research problems show unmet healthcare needs and opportunities l to do better.

When identifying a problem, researchers will use the SMART mnemonic .

S – Specific

M – Measurable

A – Achievable

R – Relevant

T – Time Bound

These problems can be sparked by the following:

• Personal experiences of a nurse.
• Socially significant nursing issues affecting a given population.
• An event that occurs in the workplace.
• Personal interactions in a particular study area trigger the need for further investigation.

The problems double up as the topic of your nursing research. You must analyze each problem individually and settle for one that you can manage. The research problem can be any issue that requires a solution and, in this context, it should relate to the nursing profession. You must provide a rationale for the problem and how your study addresses the issues.  

Step 2: Formulating Research Objectives, Hypothesis, and Questions

The second step in the nursing research process entails developing the scope of your research. This can be achieved by formulating research objectives and developing a research question or hypothesis. In the case of nursing research, coming up with a PICOT question or a clinical question is imperative.

A research objective is the clear, concise, and declarative statement a researcher expresses to guide the study. It helps identify and describe the variables and their relationships. It helps bridge the gap between research purpose and design. It also helps guide the data collection and analysis plans. An objective summarizes the intent and scope of the research. It also keeps the researcher focused and helps build a link with the problem statement. It should be SMART.

The research question you select for your research study should be clear and well-defined. You can derive a good research question from a literature search, theoretical frameworks on nursing, and your working experience. Ensure that your clinical research question is feasible, interesting, novel, ethical, and relevant to your field of study, area of specialization, or personal/career interests.

Nursing research might or might not include a hypothesis. A hypothesis is the formulation of the expected relationship between two or more variables in a population. For example, a reasonable hypothesis is:  

Healthcare providers with knowledge of standard screening methods for postpartum depression will help identify symptoms early.

There is a predicted relationship between knowledge of using standard PPD screening methods and early detection of symptoms.

Hypotheses apply to quantitative studies such as quasi-experimental or experimental nursing research studies. Once you test the hypothesis, you can accept or reject it, which you will include in the report write-up.

There are various types of hypotheses:

• Directional hypothesis – predicts the outcome in a specific direction. An example is when you say that persons with Type II Diabetes who have more excellent knowledge of self-management will have higher rates of adherence to treatment and management plans compared to those with no knowledge.
• Non-directional hypothesis – indicates a difference or correlation without being specific. For example, Type II Diabetes Mellitus patients who follow structured self-management programs have a higher chance of treatment adherence. Here, you do not indicate the directional relationship as the directional hypothesis does.
• Null hypothesis (Ho) – states no difference exist between groups or that there is no correlation between variables.
• Alternative hypothesis (H1) – states that there is a difference or correlation between variables.

Variables are qualities, properties, attributes, or characteristics that change or vary, such as age, sex, satisfaction, success, pain, stress, etc.

The independent (treatment or experimental variables) influence other variables. They enable or contribute to an inevitable outcome. It refers to the intervention of treatment the researcher performs to see some change in the dependent variables. It is the input.

The dependent variables are the outcome variables that reflect the independent variable's results, response, outcome, or effect. Majorly, dependent variables receive the action and can disappear, diminish, increase, and appear. When determining the effects of sugar consumption on obesity, obesity is the dependent variable, while sugar consumption is the independent variable.

We also have uncontrolled extraneous variables that influence the research study's findings. They affect the independent and dependent variables. They are referred to as threats of internal and external validity since they might lead to a bias in the selection, time, and instrument used.

Finally, we also have the demographic variables, which are the attributes of a population such as age, sex, religious beliefs, or educational levels that a researcher cannot manipulate.

Step 3: Reviewing the Literature

This is an essential step in the nursing research process. A literature review accounts for what has already been published about a particular research topic.

Conducting a literature review can help provide precise, relevant, and timely information on the topic of interest. It allows one to explore the background of their topic's scientific findings.

Your literature review should show that you are familiar with previous studies for a better interpretation of your results. It should also help you determine if there are new approaches or stimulate you to develop new ideas. The literature review can also help you to review the research topic and determine the knowledge gaps to justify your problem statement.

You should also identify the theoretical frameworks, tools, models, and instruments useful for a research problem.

When writing the literature review, you should consider primary sources. You should also use secondary sources such as scholarly journals, books, conference and seminar papers, theses and dissertations, and government or institutional (organizational) documents.

Some sources for literature review for nursing topics include conference papers, theses, journals, electronic databases, and books.

Related Reading: Literature Review vs. Systematic Reviews

Step 4: Develop a Research Plan

Once the research question has been identified, it is time to develop a study plan. When selecting the most appropriate research method, consider the following:

• Type of research ­that is suitable for the investigation, for example, descriptive, experimental, etc.
• The research design is experimental, survey, descriptive, case study, ethnography, phenomenology, grounded theory, and historical research.
• Details of the data to be collected and all relevant variables.
• Where the samples can best be collected and the techniques to be used.
• All the relevant methods for collecting data, e.g., Polls, observation, questionnaires, etc. One should consider all the aspects that could affect reliability and validity.

A research plan will minimize the time, effort, and money spent acquiring meaningful evidence. A proper plan will help in the following categories:

• Exploration and Surveys
• Data Analysis
• Observation

Step 5: Describe the Sample Population

Population, in this case, refers to the group one intends to study. The research topic will determine the study group selected. Therefore, one must select a topic they are familiar with, one that aligns with their specialization or professional interests, and one they can manage.

When investigating a select group of people in a community, one could target a specific age group, an ethnic group, and a particular geographical location.

Step 6: Collecting Data

Collecting data is vital in getting the information required to provide answers to the raised question. The data is organized into structures to make it easy to execute.

Data must be collected from different sources: primary and secondary.

Primary sources include:

• Focus groups - involve interviewing and observing people
• Questionnaire - asking a group of people a bunch of questions
• Observation - collecting data without asking people questions
• Interview - asking people questions about what they know

Secondary sources are:

• Literature survey
• Reports : Official and unofficial
• Library resources, including old reports, books, etc .

Step 7: Data Analysis

After gathering data, the researcher begins to analyze or interpret the information collected. Data analysis summarizes the collected data to develop patterns or relationships between them. This process involves cleaning, transforming, and modeling data for helpful information.

The steps for analyzing data are as follows.

• Going through the research plan.
• Organizing all the data collected.
• Writing a rough draft of the findings and conclusion. This is important as it will help in organizing one's thoughts.
• Polishing the rough draft to the final findings. A researcher will probably do this several times to ensure the final draft has no errors as they prepare for the final part.

Take note that the goal of the analysis is not to come up with information supporting a hypothesis but to review all data objectively to determine the most accurate. One must ensure this information is easy to understand.

Step 8: Create a Report

A report is a well-written text that shows details about the research conducted. This report is written after the researcher has collected and analyzed all the data about the topic. It is a reliable source for recounting research. One must only include significant findings and avoid irrelevant information when writing it.

Researchers report their findings in either of the following formats:

• Formal Paper (capstone project, QI report, thesis, dissertation, white paper, conference paper, etc.).
• Published Article
• PowerPoint Presentation
• Audio or Video
• Spreadsheet

Take note that this part is crucial. One must effectively explain their research findings clearly and succinctly.

Tips and Resources for Conducting Research

Having the right research skills can be the difference between succeeding or failing in nursing school and every part of a nursing career. Learning how to conduct research is essential since nursing keeps evolving rapidly.

Being successful in nursing means one needs to learn how to use literature, search engines and analyze the collected data. The following tips will help in conducting high-quality research.

1. Choose the Right Research Topic

This is the first step and perhaps the most crucial part of conducting research. One must select a topic that is within the parameters of the assignment. Nursing instructions give students guidelines on what to do and things to avoid. Therefore, students follow these guidelines so that the instructor can accept the final report.

Additionally, one must choose a topic that interests them and one that they are familiar with. Doing this will make the research process enjoyable.

2. Locate the Research Materials

Conducting adequate research means locating all the materials and utilizing all the provided resources. Some resources are available online, while others are available in print. Nursing schools also have access to journals not published on the Internet.

A student should take advantage of what the school offers regarding resources, as it will significantly help in research.

3. Refine the Search Results

When conducting research online, one must filter out any unnecessary resources. Researchers should consider only locating search results relevant to their area of study. They should use Google searches and other nursing literature searchers to narrow down their search results. To locate newspaper articles and magazines, Students should use electronic periodical databases. Additionally, they should only use the database best suited for the chosen topic.

4. Evaluate All the Sources

There is a lot of information on the Internet, and some are not accurate or relevant. Unlike books or print resources, no one has approved some of the information before being made public. Therefore, students must evaluate all their resources to ensure it is of the right quality. The CARS Checklist for Information Quality provides tips on assessing the sources' worth. Remember that the instructor expects highly credible and reliable research findings.

5. Be Prepared for Surprising Answers

High-quality research involves finding answers but not verifying what is already known. So one must keep an open mind when collecting data to learn more.

6. Make Notes

One should note all the relevant information pertinent to your study during research. When collecting information from a specific group of people, researchers must pay attention to what they are saying. In addition, they should use all the data collection methods provided to ensure relevant and reliable data.

7. Cite All Sources

When writing a report, one must cite all the sources used when conducting research. Using in-text citations acknowledges all the sources of information used in your paper. Then at the end of the paper, one must write down the list of all cited sources.

Citing sources is also an excellent way to prevent plagiarism in the work. Therefore, it is crucial to learn how to cite sources in either APA or Harvard format, which are the main formatting styles that nursing schools prefer.

Ethical Considerations When Conducting Research

Ethical considerations are principles guiding the research process and practice. This part is among the most critical parts of research. Researchers must always adhere to a specific code of conduct when collecting data from the population. The research will be doomed if one fails to follow these considerations.

Research ethics matter for integrity, dignity, and human rights. They ensure that aver research is conducted voluntarily and safely for all the participants.

Following all ethical considerations is an essential part of research because of the following reasons.

• It helps critically evaluate all the research work to ensure no apparent errors.
• It allows one to plan their work well to avoid any misleading results and ensure that all the questions on ethical procedures are resolved.
• Ensures that the public can trust their work, thus supporting and funding it.
• Promoting the aims of the research, for instance, expanding knowledge
• Supporting all the required collaborative work ethics such as fairness, mutual respect, etc. This is key because nursing research depends on collaboration between different groups.
• Remaining accountable for all actions taken when conducting research.

Significant Ethical Challenges in Nursing Research

When conducting your research, there are specific challenges one will come across. These can make it harder to complete the research. Three value systems involving research are connected to each other: society, science, and nursing. Therefore, significant ethical issues during research are linked to these three.

The challenges one will likely encounter when carrying out nursing research are:

1. Informed Consent

This means that an individual has knowingly and voluntarily decided to consent. It is a means by which a person's autonomy is protected. Individuals have to make informed decisions before participating in any research in which there are risks involved.

2. Beneficence- Do Not Harm

Also known as "be of benefit, do no harm," this ethical principle means a researcher must do effective and high-quality research to promote the welfare of others better. This can something be challenging, especially when using qualitative research. If proven not beneficial according to the expectations, it can raise significant ethical considerations for nurses.

3. Anonymity and Confidentiality

Anonymity and confidentiality are closely linked to beneficence. A person's anonymity is guaranteed when their identity is not linked to personal responses if you cannot guarantee anonymity to the subjects.

Confidentiality means that participants are free to withhold their information as they please. It becomes a dilemma when one has to break confidentiality to share important information.

4. Research Integrity

Working in a research environment means facing a highly competitive and performance-based environment. While this is good, it can lead to researchers engaging in unethical issues, reflecting a lack of integrity.

5. Conflict of Interest

Nurses and the institutions involved in research have varied interests, which can sometimes lead to conflicts. The conflicts can arise from different sources, such as interpersonal conflicts, holding multiple roles, financial issues, third-party pressures, etc.

Final Remarks on Nursing Research Methodology

Research in nursing is essential in finding and improving the different ways of treating and caring for patients. Nurses are the ones who know patients best. They understand what is working for them and what is not.  Research findings inform decision-making and advance nursing practice. Research methodology provides a detailed plan, keeping nurses on track and ensuring the process is smooth and effective.

In designing a research methodology, one must consider the research objectives. Knowing what information is expected at the end of the study will make it much easier to select the suitable methodology. Additionally, one must consider the nature of the research. If the goal is exploratory, qualitative research methods should be chosen. On the other hand, choosing the quantitative method is a good idea if the goal is to measure something. However, to understand a problem much better, one must combine both methods in mixed-method research.

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Identifying a Primary or Secondary Research Article

Differences between qualitative and quantitative research.

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Here are some criteria for evaluating if a research article is primary or secondary:

• Consists of original studies conducted by the authors
• Includes: controlled trials, cohort studies, case studies
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• Consists of assimilated evidence from a number of high-quality primary studies
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• May include: methods as a literature review, cited tables, and results from other studies
• Example 1 - Primary or Secondary?
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" Quantitative research ," also called " empirical research ," refers to any research based on something that can be accurately and precisely measured.  For example, it is possible to discover exactly how many times per second a hummingbird's wings beat and measure the corresponding effects on its physiology (heart rate, temperature, etc.).

" Qualitative research " refers to any research based on something that is impossible to accurately and precisely measure.  For example, although you certainly can conduct a survey on job satisfaction and afterwards say that such-and-such percent of your respondents were very satisfied with their jobs, it is not possible to come up with an accurate, standard numerical scale to measure the level of job satisfaction precisely.

It is so easy to confuse the words "quantitative" and "qualitative," it's best to use "empirical" and "qualitative" instead.

Hint: An excellent clue that a scholarly journal article contains empirical research is the presence of some sort of statistical analysis .

Examples of Qualitative vs Quantitative

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More information on the definitions of the different kinds of studies in medical research is available in this easy-to-understand article on the subject:

Röhrig, B., Prel, J.-B. du, Wachtlin, D., & Blettner, M. (2009). Types of Study in Medical Research . Deutsches Ärzteblatt International. https://doi.org/10.3238/arztebl.2009.0262

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Pediatric Nursing Research Topics for Students: A Comprehensive Guide

This article was written in collaboration with Christine T. and ChatGPT, our little helper developed by OpenAI.

Pediatric nursing is a rewarding and specialized field that focuses on the care of infants, children, and adolescents. Research in pediatric nursing plays a crucial role in advancing knowledge, improving patient outcomes, and informing evidence-based practice. This article aims to provide a comprehensive guide on pediatric nursing research topics for students, offering examples and tips to help you select the perfect topic for your project.

Common Areas of Pediatric Nursing Research

Pediatric nursing research encompasses a wide range of topics aimed at improving the health and well-being of children. Find below some of the most common areas of research.

Neonatal and Infant Care

This area of research focuses on the health and development of newborns and infants, as well as the interventions and strategies that can enhance their well-being. Studies may investigate the impact of skin-to-skin contact on neonatal outcomes, the role of breastfeeding in infant nutrition and health, and the efficacy of various interventions for premature infants, such as music therapy, to reduce stress and improve development.

Topic Examples to Explore:

• The impact of skin-to-skin contact on neonatal bonding and breastfeeding success
• The role of kangaroo care in improving outcomes for preterm infants
• Strategies for managing neonatal abstinence syndrome in infants exposed to opioids in utero
• The effectiveness of different neonatal resuscitation techniques
• The impact of maternal mental health on infant development and attachment
• The role of probiotics in preventing necrotizing enterocolitis in preterm infants
• The benefits of human milk fortifiers for premature infants
• The long-term effects of neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) environments on infant development
• The impact of neonatal jaundice on infant health and development
• The role of early intervention in improving outcomes for infants with congenital heart disease
• The benefits of non-invasive ventilation techniques in neonatal care
• The impact of delayed cord clamping on infant health
• The role of family-centered care in the NICU
• The effectiveness of developmental care interventions in the NICU
• The impact of neonatal hypoglycemia on long-term outcomes
• The role of therapeutic hypothermia in the management of hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy
• The impact of various feeding methods on growth and development in preterm infants
• The effectiveness of music therapy for reducing stress and promoting development in the NICU
• The role of antibiotics in preventing early-onset neonatal sepsis
• The impact of antenatal corticosteroids on neonatal respiratory outcomes
• The effectiveness of non-pharmacological interventions for neonatal pain relief
• The role of parental involvement in infant care in the NICU
• The impact of noise and light reduction strategies on infant outcomes in the NICU

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Child Development and Growth

Research in this area examines the various factors that influence a child’s physical, cognitive, and emotional development. Topics may include the effects of parenting styles on children’s behavior, the role of nutrition in growth and development, and the impact of early intervention programs on cognitive and language development.

• The effects of parenting styles on children’s cognitive and emotional development
• The impact of screen time on children’s language and social skills
• The role of play in promoting cognitive, social, and emotional development
• The impact of early literacy interventions on children’s reading skills and academic achievement
• The effects of childhood nutrition on cognitive development and school performance
• The role of sleep in children’s growth and development
• The impact of early intervention programs on language development in children with hearing loss
• The effectiveness of physical activity interventions for promoting motor development in children with disabilities
• Bridging the gap: tackling maternal and child health disparities between developed and underdeveloped countries
• The role of attachment and bonding in early childhood development
• The impact of adverse childhood experiences on cognitive and emotional development
• The role of cultural factors in shaping children’s development and socialization
• The effects of poverty on children’s cognitive, social, and emotional development
• The impact of preschool and kindergarten programs on children’s school readiness
• The role of creativity in promoting cognitive and emotional development in children
• The impact of bilingualism on children’s cognitive development and academic achievement
• The effects of parental involvement on children’s academic success and social development
• The role of nutrition in preventing stunted growth and promoting healthy development
• The impact of early exposure to music on children’s cognitive and social development
• The effectiveness of interventions for promoting resilience in children exposed to trauma
• The role of sports and physical activity in promoting children’s mental health and well-being
• The impact of bullying on children’s social and emotional development
• The role of peer relationships in children’s social and emotional development
• The effects of parental mental health on children’s development and well-being

Pediatric Mental Health

With increasing awareness of mental health issues in children, research in this area is crucial to understanding and addressing the mental health needs of young patients. Studies may explore the prevalence and risk factors of various mental health disorders, such as autism, ADHD, and depression, as well as the effectiveness of interventions, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy and psychopharmacological treatments.

• The prevalence and impact of anxiety disorders in children and adolescents
• The effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral therapy for treating childhood depression
• The role of early intervention in preventing and treating childhood trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• The impact of bullying on the mental health of children and adolescents
• The relationship between autism spectrum disorders and mental health challenges in children
• The effectiveness of play therapy in addressing emotional and behavioral issues in children
• The role of family therapy in promoting positive mental health outcomes for children and adolescents
• The impact of substance abuse on the mental health of adolescents
• The effectiveness of school-based mental health interventions for children and adolescents
• The role of peer support in promoting positive mental health outcomes in children and adolescents
• The impact of social media on the mental health of children and adolescents
• The effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions for promoting mental health in children and adolescents
• The role of resilience in protecting children’s mental health
• The impact of adverse childhood experiences on the development of mental health disorders in children and adolescents
• The effectiveness of early intervention programs for children at risk of developing mental health disorders
• The role of cultural factors in shaping children’s mental health and well-being
• The impact of parenting styles on children’s mental health outcomes
• The effectiveness of pharmacological interventions for treating mental health disorders in children and adolescents
• The role of sleep in promoting mental health and well-being in children and adolescents
• The impact of chronic illness on the mental health of children and adolescents
• The effectiveness of art therapy in promoting mental health and well-being in children and adolescents
• The role of sports and physical activity in promoting mental health and well-being in children and adolescents
• The impact of parental mental health on children’s mental health and well-being

Childhood Chronic Illness

Research in this area investigates the management, treatment, and long-term outcomes of chronic conditions in children, such as asthma, diabetes, and cystic fibrosis. Studies may examine the effectiveness of different management strategies, the role of family support in disease management, and the impact of these conditions on children’s quality of life.

• The impact of chronic illness on children’s growth and development
• The role of family-centered care in the management of childhood chronic illnesses
• The effectiveness of transition programs for adolescents with chronic illnesses moving to adult healthcare services
• The impact of school-based interventions for children with chronic illnesses
• The role of psychosocial interventions in promoting positive outcomes for children with chronic illnesses
• The impact of chronic illness on children’s mental health and well-being
• The effectiveness of telehealth interventions for managing childhood chronic illnesses
• The role of nutrition in the management of chronic illnesses in children
• The impact of chronic illness on children’s academic achievement and school performance
• The role of parent and caregiver support in managing childhood chronic illnesses
• The effectiveness of pain management strategies for children with chronic illnesses
• The impact of chronic illness on children’s social and emotional development
• The role of peer support in promoting positive outcomes for children with chronic illnesses
• The effectiveness of exercise and physical activity interventions for children with chronic illnesses
• The impact of chronic illness on the family system and sibling relationships
• The role of cultural factors in shaping the experiences of children with chronic illnesses
• The effectiveness of community-based programs for supporting children with chronic illnesses
• The impact of chronic illness on children’s quality of life
• The role of healthcare coordination in the management of childhood chronic illnesses
• The effectiveness of integrative medicine approaches for managing chronic illnesses in children
• The impact of chronic illness on children’s self-concept and identity development
• The role of health literacy in promoting positive outcomes for children with chronic illnesses
• The effectiveness of technology-based interventions for managing childhood chronic illnesses

Pediatric Pain Management

Pain is a common issue faced by children in various healthcare settings, and research in this area seeks to better understand and manage pain in pediatric patients. Topics may include the assessment of pain in children, the use of pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions for pain relief, and the impact of pain management strategies on children’s recovery and well-being.

• The effectiveness of non-pharmacological interventions for managing pediatric pain
• The role of pharmacological interventions in pediatric pain management
• The impact of pain on children’s growth, development, and well-being
• The effectiveness of alternative and complementary therapies in pediatric pain management
• The role of family-centered care in the management of pediatric pain
• The impact of pediatric pain on children’s mental health and quality of life
• The effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral strategies for managing pediatric pain
• The role of age-appropriate pain assessment tools in guiding pediatric pain management
• Pediatric oncology: working towards better treatment through evidence-based research
• The impact of chronic pain on children’s school performance and social functioning
• The role of healthcare professionals in providing education and support for pediatric pain management
• The effectiveness of interdisciplinary pain management teams for children with complex pain needs
• The impact of pediatric pain on the family system and sibling relationships
• The role of cultural factors in shaping pediatric pain management practices
• The effectiveness of technology-based interventions for managing pediatric pain
• The impact of pediatric pain on children’s self-concept and identity development
• The role of pain management in promoting positive outcomes for children undergoing surgery or medical procedures
• The effectiveness of integrative medicine approaches for managing pediatric pain
• The impact of pain on children’s sleep and daily functioning
• The role of preventive strategies in reducing pediatric pain associated with common childhood conditions
• The effectiveness of early intervention programs for children at risk of developing chronic pain
• The impact of pain on children’s physical activity levels and participation in sports
• The role of peer support in promoting positive outcomes for children with chronic pain
• The effectiveness of parent and caregiver support interventions for managing pediatric pain

Health Promotion and Disease Prevention

This area of research aims to identify and implement strategies to promote health and prevent illness in children. Topics may include the effectiveness of vaccination programs, the role of physical activity and nutrition in childhood obesity prevention, and the impact of health education programs on children’s health behaviors.

• The role of childhood immunizations in preventing infectious diseases
• The impact of school-based health promotion programs on children’s health behaviors and outcomes
• The effectiveness of nutrition education interventions for promoting healthy eating habits in children
• The role of physical activity interventions in preventing childhood obesity and promoting healthy growth
• The impact of dental health promotion programs on children’s oral health outcomes
• The effectiveness of sun safety education for preventing skin cancer in children and adolescents
• Pediatric nursing: caring for children and fostering a healthy future
• The role of parental involvement in promoting health behaviors and preventing disease in children
• The impact of community-based health promotion programs on children’s health and well-being
• The effectiveness of early intervention programs for preventing and managing childhood asthma
• The role of mental health promotion interventions in preventing mental health disorders in children and adolescents
• The impact of anti-bullying programs on children’s mental health and well-being
• The effectiveness of substance abuse prevention programs for children and adolescents
• The role of sexual health education in preventing sexually transmitted infections and promoting healthy relationships in adolescents
• The impact of environmental interventions on reducing children’s exposure to allergens and pollutants
• The effectiveness of sleep hygiene education for promoting healthy sleep habits in children and adolescents
• The role of injury prevention programs in reducing the incidence of childhood injuries and accidents
• The impact of tobacco, alcohol, and drug prevention programs on children’s health and well-being
• The effectiveness of child passenger safety education for preventing motor vehicle-related injuries in children
• The role of health literacy interventions in promoting healthy behaviors and preventing disease in children and adolescents
• Combating health care-associated infections: a community-based approach
• The impact of culturally sensitive health promotion programs on improving health outcomes for diverse pediatric populations
• The effectiveness of school-based mental health promotion programs for preventing suicide in children and adolescents
• The role of family-centered health promotion interventions in supporting overall child health and well-being
• The impact of public health policies on reducing health disparities and promoting health equity among children and adolescents

These topic examples should provide a comprehensive starting point for students interested in pediatric nursing research. By exploring various aspects of pediatric health, students can contribute to the growing body of knowledge and help improve care for children and their families.

Tips for selecting a pediatric nursing research topic

Choosing the right pediatric nursing research topic is an essential step in ensuring a successful research project. Here are some tips to help you select a topic that will be both engaging and valuable:

• Consider Your Interests:

Selecting a research topic that genuinely interests you will make the entire research process more enjoyable and motivating. Passion for your topic can lead to more in-depth research and better quality work.

• Scope and Feasibility:

Make sure your chosen topic is not too broad or too narrow. A topic with a manageable scope will allow you to explore it in-depth without becoming overwhelmed with information. Ensure that you have access to the necessary resources, such as literature, research tools, and study participants, to conduct your research effectively.

Choose a topic that is relevant to current pediatric nursing practice and has the potential to contribute to the field. Research that addresses current challenges and gaps in knowledge will be more likely to make a meaningful impact.

• Consult with Mentors and Colleagues:

Discuss your potential research topics with your professors, mentors, or fellow students to gain insights and feedback. They may provide valuable suggestions or help you refine your topic further.

• Review Existing Literature:

Conduct a thorough literature review to identify existing research in your area of interest. This will help you understand the current state of knowledge and identify gaps or areas that need further exploration.

• Ethical Considerations:

Ensure that your research topic adheres to ethical guidelines and does not pose any harm to your study participants or their families. Obtain any necessary ethical approvals from your institution or relevant governing bodies.

• Practical Implications:

Consider the potential practical implications of your research topic. Will your findings contribute to improving pediatric nursing practice or lead to the development of new interventions or policies?

• Align with Your Career Goals:

If possible, choose a research topic that aligns with your long-term career goals. This can help build a foundation for your professional development and establish expertise in your chosen area.

• Stay Updated with Current Trends:

Keep up-to-date with the latest trends and developments in pediatric nursing to ensure your research topic remains relevant and timely. Subscribe to relevant journals, attend conferences, and engage with professional organizations to stay informed.

• Be Flexible:

Remember that it’s okay to modify or refine your research topic as you progress. Be open to feedback and new ideas, and don’t be afraid to pivot your focus if necessary.

By following these tips, you can select a pediatric nursing research topic that is both engaging and valuable, contributing to the advancement of the field and your personal growth as a researcher.

Selecting a pediatric nursing research topic is an essential step in the research process. By exploring various areas of pediatric nursing and considering a wide range of topic examples, you can find the perfect subject for your project. Remember to choose a topic that interests you, is relevant and feasible, and consult with experts to ensure a successful research experience.

📎 Related Articles

1. Mental Health Nursing Research Topics: Inspiring Ideas for Students 2. Top Nursing Argumentative Essay Topics: Engage in Thought-Provoking Debates 3. Top Nursing Topics for Discussion: Engaging Conversations for Healthcare Professionals 4. Key EBP Nursing Topics: Enhancing Patient Results through Evidence-Based Practice 5. Top Nursing Research Topics for Students and Professionals 6. Nursing Debate Topics: The Importance of Discussing and Debating Nursing Issues 7. Exploring Controversial Issues in Nursing: Key Topics and Examples

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Nursing Research Assignment

?INTRODUCTION Nursing research is a systematic process by which nurses may used to confirm or refine existing knowledge and to explore new ideas about issues related to nursing practice (Borbasi, Jackson, & Langford, 2008). It falls largely into two areas, namely: Qualitative research and Quantitative research whereby qualitative research is based on the model of phenomenology, grounded theory, and ethnography and examines the experience of those receiving or delivering nursing care.

The research methods most commonly used in qualitative research are interviews, case studies, and ethnography. On the other hand, quantitative research is based in the paradigm of logical positivism and is focused upon outcomes for clients that are measurable, generally using statistics gathered from a survey questionnaire method of research (Parahoo, 1997). The objective of this nursing research assignment is to distinguish the identified three pieces of nursing research with a common issue that is relevant to my current clinical experience.

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The five phases of the research process will be outlined and discussed the findings of the researchers by providing examples from each study. For purposes of this assignment, the research topic which I want to examine is poor hygiene and failure to follow infection control practices, contributing to the spread of nosocomial infections especially those caused by antibiotic-resistant strain of bacteria such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in a clinical setting.

The said topic was chosen because it has been observed during my clinical experience, that most of the time doctors, nurses, and other health professionals does not adhere to the implementation of existing guidelines pertinent to infection prevention and control practices maybe due to excessive workload and rapid turnover interval of patients but nonetheless, that is not an excuse. Further, the emergence of antibiotic resistance is primarily due to excessive and often unnecessary use of antibiotics to patients (Gould, 2008).

Risk factor for the spread of resistant bacteria in hospitals can be summarized as over-crowding and lapses in hygiene or poor infection control practices (Gopal Rao, 1998). The three identified nursing research articles relates to my current clinical experience wherein a common problem was determined specifically enumerating the factors for the spread of healthcare-associated infections (HCAIs) such as MRSA and providing some remedies to prevent and control the transmission of such infections.

Problems identified in relation to my clinical experience. Based on previous studies it was ascertained that the mode of transmission of micro -organisms in a healthcare setting include direct and indirect contact, inhalation or droplet, waterborne or body fluid route, foodborne, and sexual activity (Gould, 2008). The problems related to my clinical experience are poor hygiene and non-adherence to infection control guidelines by nursing staff and other health professionals.

Hence, it appears that infection control was not properly managed in a healthcare setting. In my clinical experience it was observed that most of the doctors and nurses do not wear disposable gloves and disposable apron during their visit to different patients especially for those patients who are in isolation room afflicted with different kinds of disease. This observation can be illustrated when a patient was admitted in the ward and lodged in an isolation room because the patient is MRSA positive.

The doctor enter into the patient’s room to do some medical assessment and most of the time doctor tend to forget to wear protective gear before conducted clinical assessments, despite the notice or sign posted in front of the patient’s room being an isolated area. Upon conducting the medical assessment on a patient who is MRSA positive, the doctor did not wash his hands instead continued his job by conducting medical check up on the other patients who are not in isolation area. In addition, nurses also tend to forget to follow infection control ractices. They failed to understand the chain of infection control, for example an E. coli, which is considered as an infection agent found in the large intestine of human form the greater part of the normal intestinal flora. Its port of exit is via faeces. The nurse removed the contaminated linen from the bed. The E. coli contaminated the hands of the nurse who then provided care to another patient without hand washing. The second patient has a foley catheter. The nurse manipulated the catheter tubing, the E. oli in the nurse’s hands contaminated the catheter tubing and ascending to the patient’s urinary tract and then into the bladder. The susceptible host, who is the second patient with the foley catheter is an elderly and had a chronic illness necessitating complete bed rest. The foley catheter contaminated by the E. coli organism provided a direct route into the urinary bladder causing the transmission of the infection from one patient to another. The most common mode of transmission of infection is by direct contact, often on the hands of health workers.

This is the way that most HCAIs are spread and explains why hand washing is emphasized as the most important way of breaking the chain of infection (Gould, 2008). Moreover, nurses were observed roaming around in the ward corridor wearing the disposable gloves and disposable gowns after providing nursing care to patients who are in isolation room. These actuations probe that nurses should have continuing education on the implementation of infection control practices to avoid cross-infection and transmission of contagious diseases among patients.

The essence of public health is taking sensible measures to prevent problems in the future. Good infection control in primary care has the potential to prevent grave consequences for patients. Nurses in primary care should play a crucial role in ensuring cleanliness, infection control practices and adhere to guidelines in this important area (Gould, 2008). Five phases of the research process The nursing research process contains an orderly series of phases or steps that outline the key points of research study.

Research article has both qualitative and quantitative research method to develop and answer the issues pertinent to the specific topic (Borbasi, et al. , 2008). The first phase of nursing research is to conceive the study by identifying the issue or problem to be studied relevant to the interest of the researcher that will include the goal of the study, review of literature, development of theoretical framework, and the formulation of research hypothesis (Borbasi, et al. , 2008).

Literature review serves to put the current study into the context of what is already known about the phenomenon (Parahoo, 1997). The three identified nursing research were conceived due to the following problems: In article one entitled Plastic apron wear during direct patient care, the researchers stated the problem as inconsistent practice in apron use by nurses in healthcare setting (Candlin & Stark, 2005). In this study an expansion of the general themes and concentration of the main report is given and the reader is able to make choice about the relevance of the article for the purpose.

The identified problem in article two entitled controlling the risk of MRSA infection: screening and isolating patients stated that there is a need to minimize the spread of antibiotic resistant infection through screening and isolating patients (Bissett, 2005). For article three, entitled bed occupancy, turnover interval and MRSA rates in Northern Ireland, the researchers identified the problem as the increasing rate of MRSA infection in the healthcare setting. Relative thereto, the aim of the study is to ascertain the relationship between bed percentage occupancy and MRSA patient episode rates (Cunningham, kernohan & Rush, 2006).

In the review of literature, the researchers of the three articles analyses the literatures from different sources such as Cinahl, Medline and Pubmed (Bissett, 2005), to help in the development of theoretical framework to explain or predict study outcomes (Borbasi, et al. , 2008). In article three the researchers develop theoretical framework to explain their findings by using the collected data from different sources. The second phase of nursing research is to design the study whereby the methodology for the conduct of research was identified (Borbasi, et al. , 2008).

It includes the process of data collection, whereby article three is an example of quantitative method of research wherein the researchers gathered the needed data from annual reports and hospital statistics. In article one, the researchers collected the information and data needed in their study from 15 journal articles which are relevant to their topic that contribute to the credibility of the outcome of the study and this is a representation of a qualitative method of research as the researchers analyses previous case studies relevant to their topic (Candlin & Stark, 2005).

Further, article two was identified as a quantitative study and clearly outlined the research question to be answered (Bissett, 2005). The conduct of the study is the third phase of nursing research and ethics is part of phase 3 of the nursing process. It is an important part of nursing research and it is an area in which the health professional is involved daily particularly in providing care to patients. Issues relating to the study, design, recruitment of participants, feedback and data collection methods are subject to scrutiny of a departmental ethics committee and approval should be obtained.

Consent was secured from the target participants by the researchers in support to their study (Borbasi, et al. , 2008). Phase 3 includes the actual data collection pertinent to the study. In article one, the researchers evaluated and analyses the information and data gathered from the documents. They separated the data into three categories in order to accurately determine and interpret their findings (Candlin & Stark, 2005).

Records show that the researchers of the three identified nursing research sought the approval of an institutional ethics committee prior to the conduct of their respective studies. However, such approval was not acknowledged in the content of their studies. The three nursing research studies encountered some limitations, which affect the validity of the outcome of their studies. For example, in article one and three, the researchers identified their method of data analysis as their limitation in the conduct of their studies.

Candlin & Stark (2005) stressed that the documentary analysis in their study have limited available data, which are incomplete, inaccurate and has inherent biases, while the researcher in article two explained that by using survey questionnaire in the data collection does not guarantee that the target participants will provide honest and accurate answers to the questions (Bissett, 205). The analysis of the study, which includes the interpretation of the gathered data is the fourth phase of the nursing research process.

The findings in article two, reveal that nursing staff doesn’t understand the proper implementation of infection control practices and the potential transmission of infections from one patient to another (Candlin & Stark, 2005). The findings in article one and three as presented were brief, concise and accurate which are easy to understand. In article three, the researchers presented the results of the study in tables and graphs, which were used as reference to explain the findings of the study.

The phase five of nursing research is use the study that completes the research process and ensures that results or findings of the study are shared with the target consumers (Borbasi, et al. 2008). This phase includes recommendations whether further study is needed to strengthen the findings of the study and conclusions, which are being used as reference to reinforce the outcome of the research study. It may include the evaluation of the study and a summary of the findings together with the relevance and importance of the study in nursing practice.

The researchers of the three articles presented their respective conclusions in a brief and concise manner. The researchers in article one outlined their conclusion as brief as possible and stated the implication of the study in relation to nursing practice. Nurses should adhere to the existing policies and guidelines pertinent to infection control practices such as use of disposable apron during direct patient care and nurses should have understanding on the said policies, to promote good practice and reduce risk of cross-infection, an area that cannot be ignored (Candlin & Stark, 2005).

The researcher in article two emphasized that health worker should follow and observe the existing guidelines on infection control and MRSA screening should be done to all patients who are subject for admission to minimize the risk of MRSA infections (Bissett, 2005). Finally, in article three, as part of the findings of the study, the researchers were able to establish the link between high bed occupancy, patient turnovers interval and MRSA rates considering that nurses do not have enough time to implement effective infection control practices (Cunningham, Kernohan & Rush, 2006).

Influence of the research study to the identified issue The study conducted in article one was able to identify the factors that influence the nurses to use plastic apron when providing direct patient care such as nurses’ uniforms are not considered as protective clothing. It promotes good practice for health workers as plastic apron protect themselves and other people in a healthcare setting from contagious diseases and other infections. The use of plastic apron will reduce the risk of cross-contamination and prevent the spread of micro-organisms.

This research study could influence the identified problem by calling the attention of the health service managers to ensure that a policy from apron use is implemented. The management shall make sure that nurses and other health professionals will have adequate access to disposable apron to protect themselves from contamination, and to guarantee the safety of the patients and staff member in a healthcare setting (Candlin & Stark, 2005). Article two is considered as an educational in nursing practice.

It provides information and data that described nosocomial infections caused by antibiotic-resistant strain of bacteria such as MRSA (Bissett, 2005). Likewise, the study enumerated some infection control strategy that can be applied in my clinical experience such as surveillance of infection, education and training production, review and dissemination of written policies and guidelines, etc. that will provide a safe environment in the clinical setting by protecting the clients and other staff members.

These infection control strategies will ensure safe and good nursing practice that will lead to proper management of infection control practices. It is interesting to note in this article, the findings of the researchers would serve as reference in combating healthcare-associated infections. It would educate the nursing staff as far as infection control practices that form part as an update of the existing policies and guidelines.

It reminds the nurses and other healthcare workers of the grave consequences for patients if there will be an outbreak of the infection in the clinical setting. Likewise, the author of the article suggested some infection control strategies that will be of help in reducing the risk of cross-contamination and preventing the spread or transmission of infections. Bissett (2005) stressed that isolation of patient who is MRSA positive is the most ideal precautionary measure to prevent the spread of infections coupled with hygiene and cleanliness within the hospital premises.

The data presented in article three are prevalent in my clinical experience and the findings of the study is evident in every healthcare setting that when there is a rapid turnover interval of patients meaning admission of patients is greater than the discharge it will caused high bed occupancy resulting to increase in the MRSA rate due to overcrowding and work overload of nurses and other healthcare workers in a hospital setting.

Such limitations will put the nurses and medical staff working under pressure and may tend to forget to follow hygiene procedures and infection control practices (Wenzel, 1993). This article may influence the identified problem in my clinical experience by introducing equitable distribution of workload among nurses and medical staff that will include the number of patients to be taken care of by each nurse or medical staff.

In this case, nurses could concentrate on the activities and care plan to be introduced to the patient including the promotion of proper hygiene and observance of infection control practices. Conclusion In conclusion, the main recommendations arising from this study suggest that nurses must be knowledgeable to the current policies and guidelines relative to proper hygiene and infection control practices. This recommendation relates to the competencies of nurses to promote an environment that enables client safety, independence, quality of life, and health.

Likewise, nurses must also be responsible for their own professional development (Weber & Kelly, 2003). All qualified nurses must develop competency critical evaluation of research. According to Borbasi, et. al. (2008), it must be evident that nursing care provided to clients if possible, is based on quality research – based evidence. Assessing critical evaluation skills takes time and practice. Working along with other nurses (senior staff) can make the process more effective.

This will ensure that the highest possible standard for evidence-based practice is provided for patients. Relative to the three pieces of nursing research, it appears that poor hygiene and failure to follow infection control practices by nurses and other healthcare workers are contributory to rapid transmission of nosocomial infections such as MRSA in a clinical setting (Bissett, 2005). To effectively address this issue existing policies and guidelines on infection control and prevention should be updated and strictly implemented in a clinical setting.

An audit tool to monitor compliance of nurses and other health professionals to the said guidelines and policies should be initiated as part of the strategies on how to minimize if cannot eradicate the spread of infections. This study can be considered as a wake up call for nurses, doctors, and other healthcare workers for them to religiously observe proper hygiene within the hospital setting and strictly follow the standards provided by the government to stop the spread of infections in a clinical setting as well as in community setting through effective information, and education campaign.

REFERENCES Bissett, L. (2005). Controlling the risk of MRSA infection: screening and isolating patients. British journal of Nursing, 14 (7), 396-390. Borbasi, S. , Jackson, D. , & Langford, R. (2008). Navigating the maze of nursing research 2e: An interactive learning adventure. Sydney, Australia: Elsevier Mosby. Candlin, J. , Stark, S. (2005). Plastic apron wear during direct patient care. Nursing Standard. 20, (2), 41-46. Cunningham, J. , Kernohan, W. , & Rush, T. (2006). Bed occupancy, turnover internal and MRSA rates in Northern Ireland. British Journal of Nursing, 15 (6), 324-328.

Gopal Rao, G. (1998). Risk factors for the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Department of Microbiology, University Hospital: Lewisham, London Gould, D. (2008). Isolation precaution to prevent the spread of contagious diseases. Nursing Standard. 23, (22), 47-55. Parahoo, K. (1997). Nursing Research: Principles, processes and issues. Macmillan. ISB No. 337-69918-1. Weber, J. & Kelly, J. , (2003). Health assessment in nursing. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Wenzel, RP. (1993). Prevention and control of nosocomial infections, (2nd ed. ). Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

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Faculty of Health

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NURS6001 - Clinical Nursing II

Unit description

Examines a range of research methodologies that can be ethically and responsibly utilised in clinical practice environments. These methodologies are considered within the context of critically appraising the quality and appropriateness of published research findings for translation into nursing knowledge and practice. Students will have an opportunity to apply research and inquiry methods to independently scope, plan and report on an original project proposal. The proposal must address a quality, sustainability or safety improvement initiative related to practice or sustainable development goals.  

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• Human research ethics
• Clinical research
• Appraising and utilising research
• Research methodologies
• Quality improvement and safety projects
• Integrating evidence in practice

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On completion of this unit, students should be able to:

communicate to others the key human ethics considerations and components of a quality improvement initiative or clinical research utilising appropriate strategies

critically analyse research philosophies, methodologies and principles relevant to nursing practice

develop a research question and problem statement to guide critical examination of an area of interest, located within a health, social, or community care setting

apply research skills to plan, develop and disseminate a project proposal for a quality, sustainability or safety practice initiative related to the discipline of nursing

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Development of a Nursing Assignment Tool Using Workload Acuity Scores

To determine a just and consistent practice for creating nursing assignments.

BACKGROUND:

Traditional methods of assigning patients to nurses may lead to unbalanced nursing workload. This article describes the ongoing, hospital-wide effort to evaluate and implement a nursing assignment tool based on electronic health record (EHR) functionality and auto-calculated nursing workload scores.

EHR records of individual patient workload scores from all hospital units were collected from August 2017 to June 2018. A nurse-specific total workload score was summed for each staff. Then, each hospital unit’s mean nurse workload score and standard deviation, along with the unit’s nurse-to-patient ratio, were used to calculate levels of high, medium, and low nursing workload measurement (NWM).

Mean patient-specific workload scores varied greatly across hospital units. Unit-specific nurse-to-patient ratios were factored into NWM scores to create ranges for assignments that were relatively consistent across the institution.

CONCLUSION:

The use of objective, electronically generated nursing workload scores, combined with traditional nurse-to-patient ratios, provides accurate real-time nurse staffing needs that can inform best practice in staffing. The confirmation of individual patient workload scores and an appreciation for the complexity of EHR vendor rules are necessary for successful implementation. Automation ensures patient safety, staff satisfaction, and optimal resource allocation.

The focus in healthcare has been to increase quality while maintaining costs. Donabedian’s model for improving quality is based on the triad of structure, process, and outcomes and is often used in current patient outcomes and value-based payment models. 1 Newer methodologies include the Quality Health Outcome Model, which uses pathways for associating nursing care and quality. Others focus on the National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators (NDNQI) to review nurse staffing and outcomes. 2 Research has shown that when administrators decrease staff in an effort to lower costs, quality decreases and adverse events increase. 3 , 4 Given that nurse staffing comprises 40% of hospital budgets, it is imperative that optimal nurse assignments continue to meet standards of quality care and improve patient outcomes. 3 , 4 The process of how nursing assignments are distributed in healthcare settings has evolved from uninformed to scientific. 5 Multiple factors, from budgeting and operations to staff satisfaction and patient safety, have driven this evolution. Nursing assignments are often based on room proximity, mandated nurse-to-patient ratio, patient’s medical diagnosis, and continuity of care from shift to shift. In reality, nursing activity will vary throughout a patient’s length of stay based on a combination of prescribed tasks including education, nursing interventions, and psychosocial needs, in addition to medical diagnosis. The NDNQI method for staff assignments uses the hours per patient day (HPPD) as a standard when evaluating staffing. 4 – 6 Managers take into account the average number of staff they have on a given unit and compute the assignment from that information. However, using the traditional methods of creating assignments without objective data may lead to unbalanced nurse workload; in other words, intensity of nursing care varies based on patient-specific needs and abilities. Ideally, assignments should take into account changes in any patient-related tasks, inclusive of psychosocial status, medical status, care transitions, and nursing plans of care. NDNQI has proven to be more accurate than HPPD in determining patient needs as it includes admission, discharge, transfer, and other activities that take up a nurse’s time. 7 Through appropriate documentation of patient-specific activity and utilization of a standard and reliable workload measurement system, nursing assignments become more equitable. 2 To create a process that takes the complexity of nursing care into consideration when making shift assignments, it is 1st necessary to assess the amount of nursing activity required by a single patient and translate into a workload score. 8 – 10

The 2nd step, and focus of the current article, is to sum the patient workload score attributed to each nurse on duty to plan nursing assignments and distribute the total work of the unit safely and equitably. Workload-based staffing technology satisfies an essential function that meets diverse patient needs when determining nursing assignments.

Calculating a workload score takes into account dynamic patient care demands that often change from shift to shift or even hour to hour. Historically, resource allocation and staff assignment did not take the ever-changing patient care requirements into consideration. 5 According to the American Nurses Association (ANA), “Greater benefit can be derived from staffing models that consider the number of nurses and/or the nurse-to-patient ratios and can be adjusted to account for unit and shift level factors.” 11 Using a workload score in combination with an electronic health record (EHR)–based assignment tool offers an opportunity for real-time patient-centered resource allocation. By leveraging existing documentation, the nursing workload measurement (NWM) allows for agility and accuracy in nurse staffing assignments.

It has been well documented that HPPD-based or diagnostic related group–based assignments do not accurately equate to perceived nursing workload. 7 The term workload is interpreted differently among healthcare professionals. Given that, according to Merriam-Webster, 12 the medical definition of workload is keenness of sense perception , it is vital to clarify this in relation to patient care. For this project, the operational definition of workload included the amount of nursing care needed, patient reliance on nursing, staff allocation, and workload measurement. 5 , 13 The term workload-based reflects an aggregate of medical- and nursing-related tasks, as well as other aspects, such as risk factors, admission, transfer, and discharge activities. 14 The intention of a patient-specific workload score generated by EHR documentation is to estimate the intensity of nursing work the patient will require in the upcoming shift. Unless a standard is applied to account for the intensity of nursing activity required for a patient during a shift, the process of distributing nursing assignments becomes biased.

Significance

Aiken et al 15 have led the battle regarding patient safety and the level of staffing needed to maintain this goal. There are currently no federal regulations to establish appropriate guidelines for safe patient care related to nurse staffing. The Safe Staffing for Nurse and Patient Safety Act of 2018 (S. 2446, H.R. 5052) proposes clear directives related to nurse staffing levels for hospitals that receive reimbursement from Medicare. 15 One such requirement is that minimum ratios are identified and adaptable based on “the level and variability of intensity of care required by patient under existing conditions.” 16 In this Act, Congress acknowledged the abundance of evidence supporting the correlation between safe nurse staffing and improved patient outcomes. The fact that this federal legislation has not passed should not negate its importance when addressing safe staffing. States are also actively addressing safe staffing legislation. Regulations are beginning to affect payments based on staffing models, and union contracts are demanding that healthcare organizations adopt workload-driven systems. 11 The proposed federal legislation acknowledged that Connecticut, Illinois, Nevada, Ohio, Oregon, Texas, and Washington have enacted this as recommended. 11 As stated in the Lippincott Blog: “14 states currently addressed nurse staffing in hospitals in law/regulations: CA, CT, IL, MA, MN, NV, NJ, NY, OH, OR, RI, TX, VT, and WA.” 17 California is the only state with unit-specific mandated minimum nurse ratios, whereas other states have developed committees and public disclosure of ratios. Massachusetts has written into law specific nurse-to-patient ratios for the ICU of 1:1 or 1:2. Man-dating a minimum nurse-to-patient ratio by no means restricts the ability of organizations to increase ratios according to need. 16

In this study, we are motivated by the current national discussion to provide insight on how to harness emerging EHR technologies to provide hospital-wide nurse staffing assignments based on real-time patient need. Our aim is to incorporate the ANA position on staffing, namely, that staffing should focus not only on ratio, and there is variation between nurse experience, hospitals, units, and shifts. 11 The current study integrates regularly captured patient workload scores with traditional nurse-to-patient ratios into an automated data nursing assignment tool (NAT).

Materials and Methods

In the fall of 2017, our organization, an approximately 400-bed tertiary care, rural academic medical center, located in New England, implemented an EHR-based workload tool that measures patient-specific nursing workload. The institutional review board granted exempt status to conduct this quality improvement work.

Prior to implementation, decisions were made by the organization to adapt EHR rules to a point value associated with each nursing task. There are 9 components that make up an individual patient score: assessments, medications, lines/drains/airways, risks, wounds, orders, activities of daily living, admission and transfer/discharge. The tool automates an individual patient workload score based on 300 available rules that look retrospectively and prospectively for certain elements within existing documentation as well as orders. The proprietary nature of the tool does not allow the authors to disclose the details of the rules that drive the workload score. The score is updated at the following times: 3:00 AM, 9:00 AM, 3:00 PM, and 9:00 PM. The times are set to allow for “filed status” of scores. It is important to note that the times were not set to allow for late documentation, but for the batch job to run. The next phase, and the focus of this article, was to use this individual patient-level EHR data as the driver to implement a patient-centered objective and automated NAT.

To create an impartial assignment, the average workload scores on each unit were addressed. The authors felt this was important to compare unit scores so we would know if it was appropriate to use a universal assignment score, or whether this should be department specific. Having implemented the nursing workload tool, data were collected from August 2017 to June 2018. EHR-generated data were obtained using a web-based report of all patients and their workload numbers. We compiled the summary score of all patients assigned to one nurse, which is equivalent to the total workload score for that nurse. We examined the mean, SD, and median values to understand the distribution of the data. Nurse workload scores were aggregated at the department level and transformed into 3 categories indicating low, medium, and high workload, based on 1 SD from the mean department score. To set the ranges for these categories, the department level mean ± 1 SD was multiplied by each department-specific nurse-to-patient ratio. In some instances, fractional numbers were used to accommodate for units that have different nurse-to-patient ratios on the night shift. For example, a nurse-to-patient ratio of 3.5:1 was used for a unit with a 3:1 nurse-to-patient ratio on days and 4:1 nurse-to-patient ratio on nights. The result was department-specific NWM categories for nurse assignments that were represented with a color to indicate when the combined patient assignments for each nurse fell within a low, medium, or high range. The upper limit of the high range was determined by adding 200 to the lower limit of the high category. This value is only needed to program the ranges in the EHR, so it is somewhat arbitrary. However, after examining maximum values since August 2017, it is unlikely that this number will be exceeded.

The mean patient workload score varied greatly across departments, ranging from a mean score in pediatrics of 64 to a mean in ICU medical of 196 ( Table 1 ). Aggregated patient scores at the nurse level were summed across all units and compared. This aggregated number represents the NWM for a single nurse assignment having taken into account the unit’s nurse-to-patient ratio. The NWM score falls within the predefined ranges of low, medium, or high. For medium, the optimal NWM range in pediatrics with a nurse-to-patient ratio multiplier of 4 is 144 to 432, whereas in ICU medical, a nurse-to-patient ratio multiplier of 2 defines an optimal range of 272 to 512. As a visual indicator of the ranges, the NAT will be implemented with stoplight colors, with green representing the medium-level, or ideal, range. Yellow will indicate that the assignment is in the low range, indicating that a nurse still has capacity to care for additional patients, and red is in the high range relative to nursing workload. These categories will provide decision support to charge nurses and managers to determine nurse-to-patient ratios and assignments in real time, according to patient-centered needs.

Patient-Level and Nurse Assignment–Level Work Acuity Scores Across Departments in an Academic Hospital

All scores from Web Intelligence over 11.5 months (7/17 to 6/18 four times per day).

Nurse-to-patient ratio multiplier is an average in cases when a unit has different ratio standards for day and night shifts.

Strengths and Limitations

Because of the proprietary limitations of the EHR vendor, the direct application of ranges reported in our study cannot be generalized to other institutions. Nonetheless, the process of evaluating department-specific measures to derive appropriate ranges and staffing assignments can be universally adopted. Data were collected from a single academic center, which reduces the generalizability of our study. However, the sample size included 26,985 records and covered a 12-month period across all departments.

The major finding of this article demonstrates that patient workload scores, combined with minimum department-specific nurse-to-patient ratios, provide accurate patient needs to generate fair, hospital-wide staff assignments. As expected, patient workload scores varied by department. What was not expected were the higher scores observed in departments that were traditionally viewed as having lower patient care needs; that is, in the hospice unit, when we looked closer, scores were comparable to the ICU.

Our work demonstrates that a NAT allows the person responsible for making nursing assignments, usually the charge nurse, to quickly assess and adjust a nurse’s workload. The cumulative NWM score is translated into a visual indicator using color and a slide bar. The colors change based on a range of scores customized to each unit. When developing our approach, research into other organizations’ strategy to develop the ranges for the NAT yielded sparse results. It was determined that a descriptive statistical approach would be utilized to define and maintain each unit’s optimal range. Nurse managers were presented with the proposed ranges and educated on the logic behind the process and development of the tool. Work is ongoing to fully implement this assignment tool into everyday practice at the institution to ensure staff assignments are fair and unbiased. Most managers responded positively and are eager to use this tool when available. However, there was some reluctance to using patient workload scores as a basis for a staff assignment tool. The inpatient psychiatric unit staff initially did not feel this tool would be applicable to their care model. The range of scores for this unit was 30 to 90, with an outlier of 205. Data revealed that outliers in the psychiatric unit were dramatically visible and could be directly attributed to increased patient care needs, which we believe reinforced the reliability of the workload scores.

The next phase of developing an improved practice of assigning staff will require that staff schedules are batch uploaded to the EHR and into the NAT. The availability of the daily nurse schedule is a vital component for successful implementation; however, it was outside the scope of the current project. Once implemented, the staff responsible for assigning patients will drag and drop a patient’s name to the assigned nurse. A bar under the staff nurse’s name will fill with the color to indicate the current status of his/her assigned workload. The patient’s workload score will be automatically updated 4 times per day to adjust to real-time documentation and upcoming orders. As the score is dependent on nursing documentation, complete and real-time documentation of patient care will produce the most reliable score ( Figure 1 ).

Nursing assignment tool workflow.

There will be ongoing monitoring of this tool to ensure usability following implementation. Some nurse managers expressed concern with the stoplight color scheme and have suggested that a gradation of a single color may be more useful. The middle range is the optimal assignment. An assignment classified as red may be construed as precarious or undesirable. Color scheme changes will be considered pending feedback after implementation. Continued review of the ranges will also be necessary as documentation standards change or updates to the EHR are made that may lead to breakage of rules used to calculate scores.

Patient safety issues are rightly at the center of concern regarding ineffective staffing models. Studies have drawn a direct line between nursing workload and staffing ratios and avoidable deaths. 6 , 10 , 16 Patient safety is only one of the concerns that can be addressed by utilizing a NAT for staffing decisions. Other areas of concern that may be addressed include staff retention, burnout, and work satisfaction. 8 Identifying and remediating workload disparities will allow managers to allocate staffing resources appropriately, including using flexible staff when needed. 13 “Fixed staffing numbers or ratios only identify minimum staffing levels and do not adjust for the ever-changing nature of patient care needs.” 3

The national conversation continues to reflect positively on agile nursing assignment processes that flex with patient needs. 9 , 18 , 19 However, there are logistic and cultural barriers to implementation. Another challenge to the adoption of this technology may be the geography related to specific patient locations in the hospital unit. Adjusting nursing assignments based strictly on nursing workload may fail to take location of patients into consideration. Some departments currently base assignment on room location, as there are physical barriers in the unit design. Changing the status quo of the process to assign patients to nurses may be challenging in some units. One unit manager reported that they assign nurses up to 24 hours in advance, making the every 6-hour update to the nurse workload score less valuable and less sensitive to acuity and condition changes, as well as nurse competence. Clearly, each institution will require adjustments that can be easily managed from the back end of this flexible product. Engagement with operational leaders is a vital component of implementation. Such systems that leverage EHR technology have the potential to impact excellence in nursing practice.

Future versions of this tool will allow a charge nurse to quickly match patients to nurses based on continuity of care, expertise, and location. Coordinating care at this level of granularity will help ensure the patient is paired with the right nurse for the current phase of care to achieve patient safety, staff satisfaction, and optimal resource allocation. The use of objective, data-driven, electronically generated NWM scores based on actual patient workload, combined with nurse-to-patient ratios, provides accurate real-time nurse staffing needs that can lead to best practice in staffing. The validation of workload scores and an appreciation for the complexity of vendor rules are necessary for successful implementation.

Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge Geoffrey Tarbox, MBA, RN, for his work on the Excel spreadsheets; and Petrice DiDominic, MSN, RNC-OB, for her help with the Workload Acuity Tool.

R.T.E. was supported by award number UL1TR001086 from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health.

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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Difficult grace.

Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, 3680 Walnut St.

Earth Week 2024

This is a campuswide week of events, lectures, and volunteer opportunities designed to educate and inspire action related to environmental justice, climate, and nature-based solutions. This year’s theme is Restore & Regenerate.

Various locations

Take Our Children to Work Day

Excellence in Graduate Teaching Reception

5:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.

Penn Graduate Student Center, 3615 Locust Walk

Health Sciences

Nurses across the U.S. cite employer failures as their top reason for leaving

A new penn nursing study highlights the fact that health care employers could retain more nurses through solutions that enhance nurses’ work-life balance..

A new study from the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing ’s Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research (CHOPR) published in JAMA Network Open shows that, aside from retirements, poor working conditions are the leading reasons nurses leave health care employment. These study findings come at a time when hospital executives cite staffing problems as their most pressing concern.

“Prior studies evaluate nurses’ intentions to leave their job. Our study is one of the few evaluating why nurses actually left health care employment entirely,” says lead author K. Jane Muir , a CHOPR postdoctoral research fellow, associate fellow of the Leonard Davis Institute for Health Economics , and a national clinician scholar at Penn. The study surveyed 7,887 registered nurses in New York and Illinois who left health care employment between 2018 and 2021.

Across a variety of health care settings including hospitals, long-term care facilities, and ambulatory care, planned retirement was the most cited reason nurses are leaving health care employment. Closely behind retirements, insufficient staffing, burnout, and poor work-life balance topped the list. Among retired nurses in the study, only 59% stated their retirement was planned, suggesting nearly half of nurse retirements are premature exits due to poor working conditions.

“Nurses are not principally leaving for personal reasons, like going back to school or because they lack resilience. They are working in chronically poorly staffed conditions which is an ongoing problem that predates the pandemic ,” says senior author Karen Lasater, associate professor, the Jessie M. Scott Term Chair in Nursing and Health Policy, and senior fellow of the Leonard Davis Institute for Health Economics.

Read more at Penn Nursing News.

Penn celebrates operation and benefits of largest solar power project in Pennsylvania

Arts, Humanities, & Social Sciences

‘The Illuminated Body’ fuses color, light, and sound

A new Arthur Ross Gallery exhibition of work by artist Barbara Earl Thomas features cut-paper portraits reminiscent of stained glass and an immersive installation constructed with intricately cut material lit from behind.

Campus & Community

25 years of ‘LOVE’

The iconic sculpture by pop artist Robert Indiana arrived on campus in 1999 and soon became a natural place to come together.

Two-and-a-half decades of research in Malawi

As the country’s life expectancy has risen, the Malawi Longitudinal Study of Families and Health has shifted its current and future research to aging.

Science & Technology

In hot water: Coral resilience in the face of climate change

Over a decade, researchers from Penn studied coral species in Hawaii to better understand their adaptability to the effects of climate change.

WMU nursing students lead hospital study that could change future of pressure-wound monitoring

Students Maddie Bies, Jordyn Swenson and David Le are making an impact at Ascension Borgess Hospital with a project for their nursing leadership and management course.

Dave Neuman prepares WMU student volunteers for their work on the IPUP Survey.

Students walk from Ascension Borgess's Navigation Center to the hospital where they will begin observing patients.

Western's student leaders gathered the largest number of student volunteers to date for the IPUP Survey at Ascension Borgess Hospital.

Maddie Bees helps fellow nursing students enter information into the computer system.

Students learn charting skills and interact with patients while conducting the IPUP Survey.

KALAMAZOO, Mich.—An innovative effort is underway to better detect and prevent pressure wounds at Ascension Borgess Hospital, and Western Michigan University nursing students are leading the charge.

"This is cutting-edge work," says Dave Neuman , wound ostomy coordinator at Ascension Borgess.  

Students Maddie Bies , David Le and Jordyn Swenson are conducting research and compiling data to help the hospital determine if a new pressure ulcer risk assessment scale could lead to better patient care. Neuman emphasized the potential impact of the Western team's work in an email to their professor, Dr. Kelley Pattison .

Currently, the Braden Scale is the industry standard in terms of scoring risk factors for ulcers. But scoring is subjective and can vary depending on who is filling out the chart. The Shieh Score is a new tool developed to be more objective.

"We tell them all the time how important charting and documentation is … but this really gives them examples and will help their skills after graduation," says Jaime Neary, faculty specialist II of nursing.

"What the Western Michigan University students are doing is retrospectively analyzing our internal data utilizing the Shieh scale to see if we could have captured more patients who would have been pressure injury risks who were not labeled as risks," Neuman says.

The students are working with Neuman and his colleague Tammy Austin , a wound nurse and preceptor, through a nursing leadership and management class that all Bronson School of Nursing students take in their final semester before graduation. It pairs students with a nurse leader in the community to do a project related to patient safety and quality.

"The fact that we're last-year nursing students on the forefront of this effort is pretty phenomenal," says Le, of Portage. "I really love research, and this project reflects how much care has evolved—and we're adding to it. I know we're just at the beginning, but it's crazy to think that one day maybe hospitals will be using this Shieh scale."

"Health care is ever-changing; nursing is ever-changing. We're always researching and updating our practices," adds Swenson, of Homer Glen, Illinois. "I like seeing this new scale and seeing how well it's working so far. … I'm really excited to see where this goes and see how it's implemented into this hospital and possibly throughout the country."

The results of the research are being presented to hospital leadership and could potentially lead to the Shieh Score being adopted not just locally but systemwide within Ascension.

"The initial data from the students' research is already so compelling that nursing leadership is excited about the possibilities," says Neuman.

It's also opening up potential future career possibilities for the students, who admit they'd never considered research or community nursing before this project.

"It's really cool because we're getting to step into not just the clinical side of nursing that we've been so used to, we're able to dig into the research and continuing education aspect," says Bies, of Kingsley, Michigan, who plans to start her career as a patient care nurse. "This has opened the doors and shown that this is a part of nursing and this is an option for me."

UNIQUE EXPERIENCE

Bies, Le and Swenson also recently led the annual International Pressure Ulcer/Injury Prevention (IPUP) Survey at Ascension Borgess, which is conducted by more than 1,000 facilities around the globe to assess the number and severity of pressure wounds in health care systems. The Western team coordinated a group of two dozen fellow nursing students to staff the daylong effort.

"To the best of my knowledge, this is the only student-run operation in the nation. 

We've been doing this in collaboration with Western for about five or six years now, and it's been fantastically successful," says Neuman.

Bies, Swenson and Le

Six years ago, a Western nursing student in the same course created the student-led survey as her project, and it has grown every year. This year's student volunteer group was the largest the hospital has seen.

"I've had nothing but excellent students from Western in my entire tenure here," Neuman says. "It says a lot about our student externs and the buy-in from the University. It's just a great partnership."

"Every year it gets better," Austin adds. "This group is the best we've had yet. They're absolutely phenomenal."

It also allows students to gain resume-worthy experience that could give them a leg up when they begin applying for jobs.

"We're really honing in on advancing their assessment skills. When they do these surveys, they're finding that the pressure ulcers are not always properly charted, so it's giving them a lot of practice for assessment skills and communication skills in explaining what they are doing to patients," says Jaime Neary , faculty specialist II of nursing. "We tell them all the time how important charting and documentation is … but this really gives them examples and will help their skills after graduation."

The opportunity to focus on patient care and have a measurable impact at the hospital reinforces the reason the students chose Western to explore this profession in the first place.

"I want something where every day I walk away knowing that I made a difference in someone's life," Bies says. "Nursing truly fulfills that passion for me in caring for others."

For more WMU news, arts and events , visit WMU News online.

• Washington State University

WSU College of Nursing Celebrates DNP Student Scholarship Award for Substance Use Disorder Research

The Washington State University College of Nursing is delighted to announce that Soura Mustapha, a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) student, has been awarded the Rayce Rudeen Foundation scholarship. This award recognizes her work on substance use disorder (SUD), specifically through her project: DAST-10 Identification and Treatment of Substance Use Disorder at the Heartland Medicine Colville Clinic, Colville, WA, with Dr. Bacon and the Hope Street Project. Mustapha’s dedication to addressing the increase in substance-related overdoses in our communities reflects the college’s commitment to innovative healthcare solutions.

Mustapha’s project was focused on the screening and referral process for SUD within rural healthcare settings. Her project aligns with the college’s vision of improving health access and treatment across diverse populations and will improve the understanding and implementation of SUD identification protocols and effectively distribute Naloxone by healthcare staff. The expertise developed during this project will be expanded as Soura pursues her career as a nurse practitioner with a focus on SUD treatment and patient care.

The College celebrates Soura Mustapha’s achievements and her passion for improved outcomes for rural communities and the ongoing support provided by the Rayce Rudeen Foundation. Their continued contributions to the college’s research and scholarship mission creates positive change in our communities across the state and improved healthcare for those facing addiction and substance use. Together, we are improving the lives of Washington residents and introducing innovative solutions for some of our most pressing healthcare challenges.

About the Rayce Rudeen Foundation

The Rayce Rudeen Foundation was established in memory of Kent-Edward Rayce Rudeen, who tragically lost his life to an accidental overdose in 2016. Based in Spokane, Washington, the Foundation supports organizations and initiatives that promote a life free from addiction, reflecting Rayce’s compassionate spirit and dedication to helping others. Through its scholarship fund and various outreach programs, the foundation continues to impact lives and communities across the nation. For more information and to contribute to this cause, please visit the project’s website, which now proudly acknowledges the support of the Rayce Rudeen Foundation on its website: https://raycerudeen.org/.

Washington State University acknowledges that its locations statewide are on the homelands of Native peoples, who have lived in this region from time immemorial. Currently, there are 42 tribes, 35 of which are federally recognized that share traditional homelands and waterways in what is now Washington State. Some of these are nations and confederacies that represents multiple tribes and bands. The University expresses its deepest respect for and gratitude towards these original and current caretakers of the region. As an academic community, we acknowledge our responsibility to establish and maintain relationships with these tribes and Native peoples, in support of tribal sovereignty and the inclusion of their voices in teaching, research and programming. Washington State University established the  Office of Tribal Relations  and  Native American Programs  to guide us in our relationship with tribes and service to Native American students and communities. We also pledge that these relationships will consist of mutual trust, respect, and reciprocity.

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