Incorporating research into associate degree nursing curricula

All nurses are urged to be involved in research as participants and/or consumers. Such involvement may range from using research findings to participating in one or more of the research process steps to serving as principle investigator of a funded study. Clinicians at the bedside, including associate degree (AD) nurses, are well positioned to contribute to the body of nursing knowledge and enhance nursing care by identifying nursing care problems worthy of research, collecting data for nursing studies, and applying research findings in the care they provide. Minimal literature has addressed the preparation of AD students to assist in the research process. In this article, we describe how one AD program prepared students for their role as research participants. Content about the research process was presented in an easy-to-understand, clinically focused manner, and a brief research experience was provided to motivate and prepare these students for research involvement as nurses prepared at the AD level. The educational objectives were met, although time constraints limited students' opportunity to learn about research.