Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Danielle's Picks from the Literature - October 2011

Here are my picks from the nursing literature over the past few months. SJO and CHOC employees have access to the full text of many of these articles through the Burlew Medical Library.

Evidence-Based Nursing Practice: Is It Really Necessary?
Elliott, Rowena W.;
Nephrology Nursing Journal, 2011 Jul-Aug; 38 (4): 309-36

Clinical nurse research consultant: a clinical and academic role to advance practice and the discipline of nursing.
Currey, Judy; Considine, Julie; Khaw, Damien;
Journal of Advanced Nursing, 2011 Oct; 67 (10): 2275-83
Abstract: Clinical nurse research consultant: a clinical and academic role to advance practice and the discipline of nursing. Journal of Advanced Nursing 67(9), 2275-2283. Abstract Aims. This article presents a proposal for the Clinical Nurse Research Consultant, a new nursing role. Background. Although healthcare delivery continues to evolve, nursing has lacked highly specialized clinical and research leadership that, as a primary responsibility, drives evidence-based practice change in collaboration with bedside clinicians. Data sources. International literature published over the last 25 years in the databases of CINAHL, OVID, Medline Pubmed, Science Direct, Expanded Academic, ESBSCOhost, Scopus and Proquest is cited to create a case for the Clinical Nurse Research Consultant. Discussion. The Clinical Nurse Research Consultant will address the research/practice gap and assist in facilitating evidence-based clinical practice. To fulfil the responsibilities of this proposed role, the Clinical Nurse Research Consultant must be a doctorally prepared recognized clinical expert, have educational expertise, and possess advanced interpersonal, teamwork and communication skills. This role will enable clinical nurses to maintain and share their clinical expertise, advance practice through research and role model the clinical/research nexus. Implications for nursing. Critically, the Clinical Nurse Research Consultant must be appointed in a clinical and academic partnership to provide for career progression and role support. Conclusion. The creation of the Clinical Nurse Research Consultant will advance nursing practice and the discipline of nursing.

The role of advanced practice nurses in knowledge brokering as a means of promoting evidence-based practice among clinical nurses.
Gerrish, Kate; McDonnell, Ann; Nolan, Mike; Guillaume, Louise; Kirshbaum, Marilyn; Tod, Angela;
Journal of Advanced Nursing, 2011 Sep; 67 (9): 2004-14
Abstract: The role of advanced practice nurses in knowledge brokering as a means of promoting evidence-based practice among clinical nurses. Journal of Advanced Nursing 67(9), 2004-2014. Abstract Aim. To identify approaches used by advanced practice nurses to promote evidence-based practice among clinical nurses. Background. Barriers encountered at individual and organizational levels hinder clinical nurses in their ability to deliver evidence-based practice. Advanced practice nurses are well placed to promote evidence-based practice through interactions with clinical nurses. However, little is understood about how advanced practice nurses might realize this potential. Method. A multiple instrumental case study of 23 advanced practice nurses from hospital and primary care settings across seven Strategic Health Authorities in England was undertaken in 2006. Data collection comprised interviews and observation of advanced practice nurses and interviews with clinical nurses and other healthcare professionals. Data were analysed using the Framework approach. Findings. Advanced practice nurses acted as knowledge brokers in promoting evidence-based practice among clinical nurses. Knowledge management and promoting the uptake of knowledge were key components of knowledge brokering. Knowledge management involved generating different types of evidence, accumulating evidence to act as a repository for clinical nurses, synthesizing different forms of evidence, translating evidence by evaluating, interpreting and distilling it for different audiences and disseminating evidence by formal and informal means. Advanced practice nurses promoted the uptake of evidence by developing the knowledge and skills of clinical nurses through role modelling, teaching, clinical problem-solving and facilitating change. Conclusion. The role of advanced practice nurses in knowledge brokering is complex and multi-faceted. It extends beyond the knowledge management, linkage and capacity building identified in the literature to include active processes of problem-solving and facilitating change.

The impact of Nursing Rounds on the practice environment and nurse satisfaction in intensive care: Pre-test post-test comparative study.
Aitken, Leanne M.; Burmeister, Elizabeth; Clayton, Samantha; Dalais, Christine; Gardner, Glenn;
International Journal of Nursing Studies, 2011 Aug; 48 (8): 918-25
Abstract: Abstract: Background: Factors previously shown to influence patient care include effective decision making, team work, evidence based practice, staffing and job satisfaction. Clinical rounds have the potential to optimise these factors and impact on patient outcomes, but use of this strategy by intensive care nurses has not been reported. Objectives: To determine the effect of implementing Nursing Rounds in the intensive care environment on patient care planning and nurses’ perceptions of the practice environment and work satisfaction. Design: Pre-test post-test 2 group comparative design. Settings: Two intensive care units in tertiary teaching hospitals in Australia. Participants: A convenience sample of registered nurses (n =244) working full time or part time in the participating intensive care units. Methods: Nurses in participating intensive care units were asked to complete the Practice Environment Scale-Nursing Work Index (PES-NWI) and the Nursing Worklife Satisfaction Scale (NWSS) prior to and after a 12 month period during which regular Nursing Rounds were conducted in the intervention unit. Issues raised during Nursing Rounds were described and categorised. The characteristics of the sample and scale scores were summarised with differences between pre and post scores analysed using t-tests for continuous variables and chi-square tests for categorical variables. Independent predictors of the PES-NWI were determined using multivariate linear regression. Results: Nursing Rounds resulted in 577 changes being initiated for 171 patients reviewed; these changes related to the physical, psychological – individual, psychological – family, or professional practice aspects of care. Total PES-NWI and NWSS scores were similar before and after the study period in both participating units. The NWSS sub-scale of interaction between nurses improved in the intervention unit during the study period (pre – 4.85±0.93; post – 5.36±0.89, p =0.002) with no significant increase in the control group. Factors independently related to higher PES-NWI included intervention site and less years in critical care (p <0.05). Conclusions: Implementation of Nursing Rounds within the intensive care environment is feasible and is an effective strategy for initiating change to patient care. Application and testing of this strategy, including identification of the most appropriate methods of measuring impact, in other settings is needed to determine generalisability.

Maintaining a Full House for Research Involvement Among Float Pool Nurses.
Egbert, April; Lincicome, Amber; Elam, Ashley; Shinkle, Mary; Long, Lisa English;
Journal of Pediatric Nursing, 2011 Aug; 26 (4): e24-5

Advancing Nursing Research Through a Mentorship Program for Staff Nurses.
Gawlinski, Anna; Miller, Pamela S.;
AACN Advanced Critical Care, 2011 Jul-Sep; 22 (3): 190-200

Nurse Champions: A Key Role in Bridging the Gap Between Research and Practice.
White, Carole L.;
JEN: Journal of Emergency Nursing, 2011 Jul; 37 (4): 386-7

Research using blogs for data: Public documents or private musings?
Eastham, Linda A;
Research in Nursing & Health, 2011 Aug; 34 (4): 353-61
Abstract: Nursing and other health sciences researchers increasingly find blogs to be valuable sources of information for investigating illness and other human health experiences. When researchers use blogs as their exclusive data source, they must discern the public/private aspects inherent in the nature of blogs in order to plan for appropriate protection of the bloggers' identities. Approaches to the protection of human subjects are poorly addressed when the human subject is a blogger and the blog is used as an exclusive source of data. Researchers may be assisted to protect human subjects via a decisional framework for assessing a blog author's intended position on the public/private continuum. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Res Nurs Health 34:353-361, 2011.

Four rights for focusing clinical nurse specialist research: right focus, right projects, right level, and right resources.
Albert, Nancy M; Fulton, Janet S;
Clinical Nurse Specialist: The Journal for Advanced Nursing Practice, 2011 Jul-Aug; 25 (4): 165-8

Engaging and Developing Research Leaders in Practice: Creating a Foundation for a Culture of Clinical Inquiry.
Stanley, Terry; Sitterding, Mary; Broome, Marion E.; McCaskey, Marjorie;
Journal of Pediatric Nursing, 2011 Oct; 26 (5): 480-8
Abstract: This article describes the first formative year experience of a research council in a children''s hospital within a Magnet-designated hospital system. The vision, transformational leadership structure, and implementation strategies used during the first year of formation of a Nursing Research and Evidence-Based Practice Council (NREBPC) are delineated and reflect Magnet components and sources of evidence (American Nurses Credentialing Center [ANCC], 2008). The use of the nursing excellence framework (ANCC, 2008) coupled with principles of adult learning to expand the knowledge and skills of nurses on the NREBPC are described and examples provided. Initial outcomes in terms of nurses'' leadership for research studies and planned documentation of additional metrics that have the potential to improve care through the development of a culture of inquiry are proposed.

Can You Hear Me? Facilitating the Voice of Frontline Nurses Through Nursing Research.
Vogelsmeier, Amy;
Western Journal of Nursing Research, 2011 Oct; 33 (6): 743-4

Social Networking & the Nurse

The American Nurses Association has just published a new guideline, Principles for Social Networking and the Nurse. The guideline is intended to cover the benefits and risks of social networking and include the following six principles:


  • Nurses must not transmit or place online individually identifiable patient information.

  • Nurses must observe ethically prescribed professional patient-nurse boundaries.

  • Nurses should understand that patients, colleagues, institutions and employers may view postings.

  • Nurses should take advantage of privacy settings and seek to separate personal and professional information online.

  • Nurses should bring content that could harm a patient’s privacy, rights or welfare to the attention of appropriate authorities.

  • Nurses should participate in developing institutional policies governing online contact.

A free electronic version of the complete guideline is available to all ANA members.