Clinical research is part of what we do: the experience of one medical intensive care unit.
Clinical research remains a desired goal of the profession. Unfortunately, the methods we have traditionally used to spark the interest and commitment of clinicians have not been universally accepted or successful in attaining our goal. Although nothing is inherently wrong with journal club meetings, research forums, and partnering with academicians, these methods of inspiring research rarely do so. Partially, that failure is because a leader, perhaps a cheerleader, is needed, someone who is willing to teach, support, coach, and call to task the clinicians who wish to "do" clinical research. As noted by Hanneman, the presence of a unit-based expert is necessary for the "catalytic conversion" of others: "Expert nurses methodically build non-expert nurse expertise through flexible, context dependent strategies." The mentor must understand the abilities, the background, and the time commitments of the clinicians so that the support is appropriate for the task. For example, an academician friend who wished to do some research "partnering" with some clinicians in a practice area of interest thought that the main role of the clinicians would be as data collectors. In this collision of philosophies and understanding, the clinicians, who wanted the academician to "show them" how to do the research and teach them at each step, were angered by the academician's perspective of their potential to contribute to the research process. The project was not successful because neither the clinicians nor the academician understood the perspective or expectations of the other. For clinical research to thrive and prosper, indeed to become part of what we do in practice, we must learn from the clinicians who can tell us what works and what does not. The comments of the clinicians recorded in Table 1 are filled with advice, should we choose to listen. Clinical research is part of what our MICU does. The clinicians are proud of their accomplishments, and some are now mentoring others in the process. The success of the program can easily be duplicated in other settings. I hope that we begin to acknowledge the power of teaching research as part of clinical practice and start to reward and acknowledge our clinicians for their involvement.
Burns
Suzanne M
SM
Acute and Specialty Care Division, Medical Intensive Care Unit, University of Virginia Health System, Charlottesville, Va., USA.
D015400:Clinical Nursing Research / Q000379:methods / Q000458:organization & administration*; D017408:Guidelines as Topic; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units; D009720:Nurse Clinicians; D015397:Program Evaluation; D014768:Virginia