Being a director of a nursing department, I am particularly interested in the findings of the most up-to-date studies, as they play a tremendous role in patient care. I am firmly convinced that a medical worker has to be well-aware of the best-practices, adopted in various hospitals because this knowledge improves the process of treatment and helps to run the department more effectively. Although, it may sound slightly presumptuous but I can say that I seldom had the so-called fear of the research. It does not appear to me like a maze graphics, numbers or equations. Certainly, it took me much time to understand some peculiar details, in particular, methods of data analysis like ANNOVA or T-test. But I think that many people can do it, if they overcome the stereotype according to which statistics is something otherworldly. I would like to emphasize an idea that fear is by far the most serious barrier that hinders personal development and it is vital to conquer it, otherwise no progress can be made.
Judging from my previous encounters with various research works and monographs, I can argue a medical worker must be able to critically assess them. This is why I always pay close attention to the methods of data collection, sampling, participants of the study, and so forth. These criteria help to determine whether the results are valid or not. It has to be admitted that I am not a researcher; yet, I must evaluate the ideas of other scholars. This is one of the reasons why I do an extensive reading about the principles and stages of nursing research. I focus on several aspects of medical studies, for instance, the difference between quantitative and qualitative research methods (Polit & Beck, 2009). One of the greatest difficulties, faced by modern researchers is the translation of qualitative data into numbers, and this is not always easy to do. Qualitative techniques like observation, experiment or interview are extremely effective as they help to describe a certain phenomenon or behavior in a precise way. But at the same time qualitative research has a significant disadvantage: it is more subjective and therefore, it gives room for prejudice and misinterpretation of data (Munhall, 2007). In turn, quantitative strategies help scientists to see regularities or distinctive patterns among things. In my opinion, nursing professionals must know how these methods should be employed. These skills are indispensible for a good nurse.
I frequently hold conversations about medical studies with some of my colleagues who also realize the importance of research utilization. These conversations are extremely beneficial for me because they enable me to take an unbiased view on some ideas, expressed by the scientists. Fortunately, the overwhelming majority of people with whom I work and study are genuinely interested in this aspect of nursing profession. Most importantly, they are quite proficient in the peculiarities of clinical trials. To a certain degree, communication with my colleagues is also a way of learning for me.
I cannot say that my perception or attitude toward research has drastically changed recently. More likely, my understanding of this process became more in-depth and I learned more about those obstacles, surmounted by clinical researchers. Finally, I got a better idea of how the research findings should be utilized by ambulatory centers and other medical institutions.
References
Munhall. P (2007). Nursing research: a qualitative perspective. NY: Jones & Bartlett Publishers.
Polit D. & Beck C. (2009). Essentials Nursing Research. New York: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.