1. INQUIRY in BACCALAUREATE NURSING EDUCATION: FOSTERING EVIDENCE BASED PRACTICE

2. Brigham Young University College of Nursing
Lynn Clark Callister, PhD, RN, Professor
Gerry Matsumura, PhD, RN,
Associate Professor
Sandra Lookinland, PhD, RN,
Professor
Denise Gibbons Davis, Powerpoint Designer
Brigham Young University College of Nursing

4. Sixteen years ago this question was asked by an expert panel of educators, “How best can a spirit of inquiry be engendered in nursing students?” (Tanner & Lindeman, 1987, p. 50). This question is still being asked, with the increasing emphasis on evidence-based nursing practice.

5. Nurse educators are charged with the responsibility to prepare graduates who:
Base practice on current knowledge, theory and research
Evaluate nursing care outcomes
Participate in research and utilize research findings
Participate in shaping the health care delivery system.

6. There is a need to more fully implement teaching strategies that help students gain critical thinking skills related to inquiry, and understand the importance of evidence-based nursing practice.

7. Research and scholarship emphases
Student identified benefits
Challenges associated with incorporating inquiry across the curriculum

8. Research and Scholarship Emphases
Nursing Research Course
Required assignments: critiques, identification of “sacred cows”, journal entry which focuses on inquiry.
Optional assignments: research practicum with faculty mentor or clinical nurse researcher, collaborative research with faculty, generation of a proposal for an undergraduate honors thesis or undergraduate research award, development of a poster answering a clinical question for a faculty/student poster session.

9. Research and Scholarship Emphases
Healthy People 2020 Scholarly Paper
Research activities during clinical rotations
Capstone clinical projects

10. Student Identified Benefits
Interest in evidence-based nursing practice and participating in the generation of research
Enhanced critical thinking skills through the development of knowledge, experience, competencies, attitudes, and standards

11. Student Identified Benefits
Motivation to continue professional growth and development by participating in life long learning.
Becoming better consumers of research findings.
Enhanced understanding of the “real world” of clinical research
Stimulus to pursue graduate studies in nursing.

12. Student Identified Benefits
Increased interest in evidence-based nursing practice and participating in research.
“I began this course with the preconceived notion that research was boring and was not something that I wanted to get involved in. But my experience as a research assistant has opened my eyes to the incredible world of nursing research. It helped research to come alive for me.”

13. Student Identified Benefits
Increased interest in evidence-based nursing practice and participating in research. Another student who participated in collaborative research with a faculty team wrote, “I have become more familiar with the research process, have come to realize the importance of incorporating research into my professional practice, and most importantly have come to enjoy doing research and answering those unknown questions.”

14. Student Identified Benefits Enhanced Critical Thinking Skills
One student who worked with a faculty mentor suggested that through this experience, “I’ve learned more about my profession than I ever would studying out of a textbook. It’s on the job training and real life work, not just made-up scenarios that you talk about in a classroom. After one hour working with my mentor, I have learned more about research and statistics than I did in a whole semester research course.”

15. Student Identified Benefits Motivation to Continue Professional Growth and Development
One student described increased motivation regarding lifelong professional learning, “I discovered that nursing research is very applicable to my practice. I now know that I can apply many of my skills and talents to pursue my own nursing research, become aware of current research, and apply this evidence in my daily nursing practice.”

16. Student Identified Benefits Becoming Better Consumers of Research Findings
A student in an advanced critical care clinical elective wrote about sepsis and central venous lines, “It is important for me as a nurse to implement evidence-based practice. There is always the human tendency of finding comfort and security in the familiar, but I must be willing to step out of my comfort zone, make logical decisions, and implement those practices which have been proven beneficial in improving patient care. Perhaps the only traditional practice that I hold constant is to remember that I am the patient’s advocate and I have the responsibility to provide evidence-based, holistic care to my patients.”

17. Student Identified Benefits Enhanced Understanding of the “Real World” of Clinical Research
One student reported on her experience with the Faster Study with a clinical nurse researcher, “Maternal/fetal research is relevant to me as a nurse, as a woman, and as a future mother. I gained a better appreciation of the importance of organization, accuracy, and attention to detail in a prospective study. I know that my skills in analyzing, critical thinking, operating computer programs, preparing professional presentations, and my confidence in my abilities have increased dramatically because of the time my mentor spent with me.”

18. Student Identified Benefits Stimulus to Pursue Graduate Studies
One student who generated a poster on management of interstitial cystitis for the undergraduate research course, is now in a family nurse practitioner program, and the topic of her critical appraisal is interstitial cystitis. Another student who received an undergraduate research award and completed an honors thesis is now enrolled in a nurse midwifery program.

19. Challenges in Integrating Inquiry
Offering the nursing research course as early in the program as possible.
Web-based education (instructional design, process, and evaluation)
Standardization of faculty standards for research and scholarship
Generation of enthusiasm among students who may be skeptical about the importance of inquiry in clinical practice.
“Leveling” of what is required of a baccalaureate graduate regarding evidence-based practice.

20. “How best can a spirit of inquiry be engendered in nursing students?”