The article, "Engaging Nurse Leaders in Health Services Research,"1 addresses a few of the issues and obstacles I have encountered while trying to introduce evidence-based nursing practice to our facility. These obstacles include lack of administrative support, lack of staff nurse interest, and lack of staffing and time. I am searching for ways to gain administrative support for evidence-based nursing practice that includes nursing research.
I work in a small cardiac catheterization laboratory where physicians and nurses practice evidence-based cardiac care using acute myocardial infarction protocols and clinical pathways. I am privileged to participate in medical research studies that our physicians conduct; however, nursing research is nonexistent. Currently, our hospital is working toward achieving Magnet status. Nursing research and evidence-based practice are integral to this process.
Application of research in clinical nursing practice requires support at all levels of the organization.1 I found the article of Bolton et al1 interesting in that it emphasized that the success of the study was due to the nursing leadership support. Nursing leaders helped identify ways to gain nurse leader and administrator support and participation in the research process by participating in a research study that required them to be interviewed.
The efforts of the researchers had more to do with the success of the study than the actual support received; the question of how to gain support of nursing leaders in research was not clearly answered. However, the article did an excellent job of pointing out that administrative duty, lack of organizational support, and lack of time made participation in research difficult, if not impossible. It would be wonderful to read a follow-up study where strategies to break down the barriers to incorporating evidence-based nursing practices are identified and implemented.
Paula D. Williams, BSN
Staff Nurse II
Institution name and
location withheld on request
Columbia, Missouri
([email protected])
References