Research Fellows, Ben Bowers and Caroline Dickson, discuss the importance of research within nursing, and how to embed it in practical and innovative ways.
Research within nursing is generally considered a Marmite concept – you either love it or hate it!
That said, nurses are curious, questioning, have considerable abilities to use evidence to make decisions and to advocate for patients and their families. They can evaluate current practice and identify ways to make patient and staff experiences better. Nurses do research! Community and primary care nurses do research! It’s not a case of love or hate, it’s about recognising and articulating what counts as research… and building community and primary care nurses’ confidence in driving forward research that matters.
Educators in community and primary care are seeking to find innovative ways to include research in their curricula, ways that help nurses to embed research into daily practices and encourage them to consider how they can lead on developing much needed evidence to support community nursing practice.
The pool of high-quality evidence to support community nurses in their roles is gradually improving. This is crucial to evidence both ‘being’ and ‘doing’ community nursing practice, preventing the roles becoming task-focused (Dickson 2022). Improving the effectiveness and efficiency of community nursing practice, whilst considering the uniqueness of the specialisms, requires ongoing research and development work.
Increasing numbers of community nursing researchers are role modelling ways of incorporating research into clinical and academic roles. Forums such as the Queen’s Nursing Institute Scotland and the Queen’s Nursing Institute are committed to supporting UK-based nurse researchers and research engagement, through skills training, networking and providing opportunities for community and primary care nurses to be involved in research. These activities are happening concurrently with the UK Government showing a commitment to developing research capacity and capability in nursing within its strategic plans, and government-funded schemes that support clinical academic careers and research activity. However, community and primary care nurse-led research remain very under-represented (Bowers and Evans 2022).
The problem remains, there is not enough nurse-led research to inform evidence-based community practice. So, we created the QNI Community Nursing Research Forum (click here for more) to strengthen community-based nursing research through peer support, mentorship and supporting personal development and research opportunities across the United Kingdom.
The idea for the Forum is simple and is proving to be effective. It brings together novices and experts alike, to network, learn, share ideas and develop research and development within their clinical role as well as in research-related careers. The Forum now has 900 members from across the UK. We come together as a community for online Masterclasses, drop-in sessions and webinars. We also have a growing private Facebook group for members to ask research related questions and get advice. We continue to build innovative web resources (click here for more) based on members’ requests and development needs.
There is great appetite for engaging with research within community and primary care nursing and we want to support members in developing their skillsets, networks and research interests. There are considerable benefits from being part of an inclusive, dynamic community of like-minded peers interested in research, and the UK-wide focus is hugely helpful in bringing people together and supporting one another to grow and access support within their specialties and beyond.
Taking up opportunities to engage in research may not seem like a priority when much of the workforce is understaffed and clinical practice demands are high. However, engaging in research provides a chance to recharge and grow. Conducting and engaging in research requires many different skills and abilities. It also allows nurses to communicate and collaborate closely with like-minded peers involved in research, something that can be limited when working in relative isolation in community settings. So, we invite you to join us!
These are the key reasons why you should join the Community Nursing Research Forum:
- There are similar opportunities and challenges for nurses working in the community and primary care, regardless of specialties and geographical location
- Organisations do not always provide the support needed to engage with research
- Peer support is invigorating
- Opportunities to generate ideas, learn about research, methodologies and methods
- Mentorship scheme
Dr. Caroline Dickson is Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, Director of Person-centred Practice – International Community of Practice, a Fellow of Queens Nursing institute Scotland, a Member of the CPcPR and Co-founder of CAKE (click here to find out more)
Ben Bowers is a Wellcome Post-Doctoral Fellow, a Nurse Consultant – Palliative Care, a Research Consultant at the Queen’s Nursing Institute, and Honorary Associate Professor.
