Nursing
Research
The
nursing staff of Huntington Hospital continually strives
to find new and better ways to improve patient care.
Nursing research as well as Evidence-Based Nursing
Practice (EBP) activities are integral to this quest
to provide patients with the very best nursing care
possible. Huntington Hospital’s nursing staff
has shown increasing interest in all areas of nursing
research and EBP, particularly in the areas of patient
safety and outcome measurement.
The hospital’s Nursing Research/EBP Council,
comprised of direct care nurses as well as nurse
managers, supervisors, educators, and clinicians,
provides an intellectually stimulating platform for
discussion and evaluation of various research and
EBP initiatives. Valuable information is then disseminated
to the nursing staff at regularly scheduled meetings
conducted by the nurse managers on each of the patient
care units. In addition, Judith Moran-Peters, RN,
DNSc, CNA, BC, the hospital’s Coordinator of
Nursing Research/Evidence-Based Nursing Activities,
provides guidance to nursing staff and nursing students
throughout the hospital regarding a wide range of
nursing research and EBP topics. Dr. Moran also serves
as a liaison with the hospital’s Institutional
Review Board.
Nurses who are interested in research may participate
in a comprehensive 8-hour seminar on “Nursing
Research and Evidence-Based Nursing Practice: Essential
Elements.” The seminar is taught by Dr. Moran-Peters
on a monthly basis. Nurses successfully completing
the seminar are awarded 5.5 CEUs.
In 2007, 25 EBP projects developed by teams of direct
care nurses and nurse managers were conducted at Huntington
Hospital. Topics reflected the wide spectrum of interests,
concerns and importance to nurses throughout the hospital,
ranging from the effect of music therapy on postoperative
abdominal surgery patients’ perception of pain,
to a study by endoscopy nurses examining the level
of scientific enquiry serving as the basis for physician
ordered, post-procedure dietary instruction in patients
diagnosed with diverticular disease. Many of their
research findings were shared with other professionals
at nursing conferences throughout the country.
One recent study highlighted positive outcomes associated
with a “Prepare for Surgery/Heal Faster” workshop.
Eighty percent of the preoperative patients who completed
the workshop reported that it helped them to make the
decision to have surgery, improved their pain control,
and decreased stress-related symptoms such as headache,
palpitations and gastrointestinal distress. As a result
of this study, a proposal has been submitted to hospital
administration to support the expansion holistic nursing
service at the hospital.
Because Huntington Hospital is part of the North Shore-Long
Island Jewish Health System and its Institute for Nursing,
collaborative activities and research projects are
developed across a broad spectrum of healthcare facilities.
Regular meetings of the Health System’s Nursing
Research Council provide an excellent opportunity for
experienced and aspiring nurse researchers to exchange
ideas and information. In addition, a workshop provided
by the Institute helps Huntington Hospital nurses generate
important research questions with relevance to their
respective areas of clinical practice. In addition,
Dr. Moran co-teaches a class, “How to Critique
a Research Study,” with other doctoral prepared
nurse leaders during the Nursing #101 Course, which
is offered on a quarterly basis by the Institute for
Nursing.
Nurses interested in learning more about nursing research
and evidence-based nursing practice activities are
encouraged to contact Dr. Moran at jmoran@hunthosp.org
or (631) 351-2070.
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