DNP, EBP, Evidence based nursing, evidence based practice, PhD

DNP vs. PhD: If the shoe fits….

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For RNs wanting to pursue a doctorate, it is important to pick a degree that Glass slipperbest matches your anticipated  career path.   The shortest simplest explanation of the difference in these degrees is probably:

  1. PhD – If you want to be a nurse scientist & teach in a university & conduct  nursing research. 
  2. DNP – If you want to be an advanced practice nurse, who primarily uses research in leadership, QI, patient care, etc. along with measuring project outcomes.

An excellent, free full-text, critique can be found at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4547057/  

Of course, some DNPs teach in universities, particularly in DNP programs.  PhDs may otherwise be better prepared for faculty roles.  I encourage you to look carefully at the curriculum at the school where you hope to study and expectations of a university where you hope to teach.  Speak with faculty,  & choose wisely.

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Clinical practice guidelines, Evidence based nursing, evidence based practice, reading research, research, Research class

It’s Up to you: Accept the Status Quo or Challenge it

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Yes.  Change can be painful.question

Yes. It is easier to do things the way we’ve always done them (and been seemingly successful).

Yet, most of us want to work more efficiently or improve our own or patients’ health.Tension

 So, there you have the problem: a tension between status quo and change. Perhaps taking the easy status quo is why ‘everyday nurses’ don’t read research.

Ralph (2017) writes encountering 3 common mindsets that keep nurses stuck in the rut of refusing to examine new research:

  1. I’m not a researcher.
  2. I don’t value research.
  3. I don’t have time to read research.

But, he argues, you have a choice: you can go with the status quo or challenge it (Ralph).  And (admit it), haven’t we all found that the status quo sometimes doesn’t work well so that we end up

  • choosing a “work around,” or
  • ignoring/avoiding the problem or
  • leaving the problem for someone else or
  • ….[well….,you pick an action.]

TensionHow to begin solving the problem of not reading research? Think of a super-interesting topic to you and make a quick trip to PubMed.com. Check out a few relevant abstracts and ask your librarian to get the articles for you. Read them in the nurses’ lounge so others can, too.

Let me know how your challenge to the status quo works out.

Bibliography: Fulltext available for download through https://www.researchgate.net/ of  Ralph, N. (2017 April). Editorial: Engaging with research & evidence is a nursing priority so why are ‘everyday’ nurses not reading the literature, ACORN 30(3):3-5. doi: 10.26550/303/3.5

Methods, Questionnaires, Reliability & validity, research, Research class

Research Words of the Week: Reliability & Validity

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Reliability & validity are terms that refer to the consistency and accuracy of a quantitative measurement questionnaire, technical device, ruler, or any other measuring device.  It means that the outcome measure can be trusted and is relatively error free.

  • Reliability – This means that the instrument measures CONSISTENTLY
  • Validity – This means that the instrument measures ACCURATELY. In other words it measures what it is supposed to measure and not something else.

For example: If your bathroom scale measures weight, then it is a valid measure of weight (e.g. it doesn’t measure BP or stress). You might say it had high validity. If your bathroom scale measures your weight as the same thing when you step on and off of it several times then it is measuring weight reliably  or consistently; and you might say it has high reliability.

Evidence based nursing, evidence based practice, Evidence hierarchy, experiment, quasi-experimental, Research design, research methods

Of Mice and Cheese: Research with Non-equivalent Groups

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Reposting. Enjoy the review. -Dr.H

discoveringyourinnerscientist

Last week’s blog focused on the strongest types of evidence that you might find when trying to solve a clinical problem. These are: #1 Systematic reviews, Meta-analyses, or Evidence-based clinical practice guidelines based on systematic review of RCTs; & #2 Randomized controlled trials. (For levels of evidence from strongest to weakest, see blog “I like my coffee (and my evidence) strong!”)

So after the two strongest levels of evidence what is the next strongest? #3 level is controlled trials without randomization. (Sometimes called quasi-experimental studies.)

Here’s an example of a controlled trial without randomization: I take two groups of mice and test two types of cheese to find out which one mice like best. I do NOT randomly assign the mice to groups. The experimental group #1 loved Swiss cheese, & the control group #2 refused to eat the cheddar. I assume confidently that mice LOVE Swiss cheese…

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Data, Data collection, Historical research, History of research, Methods, nursing history, qualitative, Qualitative research

Is History “Bunk”? We report. You Decide.

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History?  Really?  Fascinating!  Ever thought about all the stories behind your own present life?

Check out this youtube dramatized documentary about Nurse Mary Seacole.  I promise – you’ll enjoy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIrim4r-LbY   

You can be a part of documenting such stories, including your own.  Can I pique your interest with these examples about historical research?

1. Artifacts: Example = http://acif.org/ The American Collectors of Infant Feeders:

Infant feeder
CREDIT http://acif.org/

The American Collectors of Infant Feeders is a non-profit organization whose primary purpose is to gather and publish information pertaining to the feeding of infants throughout history. The collecting of infant feeders and related items is promoted.

2. Interviews: Example = http://www.oralhistory.org/  Want to do interviews of interesting faculty, students, leaders, “ordinary” nurses?  Check out the Oral History Association    In addition to fostering communication among its members, the OHA encourages standards of excellence in the collection, preservation, dissemination and uses of oral testimony.

scrapbook
CREDIT https://archives.mc.duke.edu/blog/nursing-materials-displa

3. Stories from the “ordinary:” Example: http://www.murphsplace.com/mother/main.html My Mother’s War – “Helen T.Burrey was an American nurse who served as a Red Cross Nurse during World War I. She documented her experience in both a journal and a scrapbook which has been treasured by her daughter, Mary Murphy. Ms Murphy has placed many of these items on the Internet for people to access and it provides a first-hand account of that experience. Additionally she has a variety of links to other WWI resources.” (quoted from AAHN Resources online)

Army history
CREDIT http://e-anca.org/

4. Ethnic studies: Example=https://libguides.rowan.edu/blacknurses  Black Nurses in History “This is a ‘bibliography and guide to web resources’ from the UMDNJ and Coriell Research Library. Included are Mamie O. Hail, Mary Eliza Mahoney, Jessie Sleet Scales, Mary Seacole, Mabel Keaton Staupers, Susie King Taylor, Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman.” (quoted from AAHN Resources online)

Want more?  

Critical thinking:  Don’t forget to save your own materials.  Your life is history!  What in your life is most interesting?  Have you written it down or dictated it into your iphone voice memo? There is GREAT interest in “ordinary” men and women.  Many times items are tossed because they are “just letters” or “only old records,” or “stuff.” Just Don’t Do It.

 

Disseminating findings, Publishing, Writing

To Italicize or NOT to Italicize. That is the question.

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So…after you do research or finish out your evidence-based practice project, you have to disseminate your findings, right?  That means good writing skills are necessary.

I stumbled into the GRAMMAR PARTY blog today when I wondered whether or not to italicize coup d’état. Do you know?  I didn’t.  Check out this helpful resource.

 

Grammar Party

Every once in a while, it feels good to add a snooty foreign word or phrase to your writing. I mean, what would the writing world be without a little je ne sais quoi? However, there are rules about how to treat these words and phrases on first reference, and that’s what today’s post is about. (After all, teaching language and style rules is Grammar Party’s modus operandi.)

Section 7.49 of the sixteenth edition of The Chicago Manual of Style states, “Italics are used for isolated words and phrases in a foreign language if they are likely to be unfamiliar to readers. If a foreign word becomes familiar through repeated use throughout a work, it need be italicized only on its first occurrence. If it appears only rarely, however, italics may be retained.”

The question is: How do you know if a foreign word or phrase will be…

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Making research accessible

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