4 Research In Practice

Nurses are, by nature and design, inquisitive critical thinkers. In their day to day practice, nurses critically analyze the care and treatments their patients receive in order to ensure the best outcome. However, for many nurses, research is something that is done by “others” who are far removed from bedside care.

Research is what drives evidence based care. While major research studies can be time-consuming and cumbersome, many nursing practices today come from bedside nursing and the desire to do better. The implementation of minimum nurse-to-patient ratios in British Columbia is the direct result of studies in Australia, California and Canada,. These studies have shown a direct correlation between an increase in patient load and adverse patient outcomes, as well as the correlation between decreased patient assignments and increased staff recruitment and retention.