Nursing Partnerships in Research and Quality Improvement Within a Large Integrated Health Care System

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Systems Science
• Nursing Leadership
• Evidence-Based Practice

Background:

• Large integrated healthcare systems employ over 58,000 nurses, primarily at the point of care.
• A growing number of nurses are engaging in quality improvement and research to advance patient care.
• There is an increasing demand for nursing leadership in systems-level policies and delivery science research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe barriers and solutions for integrating practice, quality improvement, and research across a large healthcare system.
• To emphasize the unique role and importance of nurse leaders in interdisciplinary teams.
• To explore how nurse leaders can simultaneously advance research, quality improvement, and operational goals.

Main Methods:

• Partnership between clinical operations leaders and nurse scientists.
• Focus on determining and utilizing evidence-based practices.
• Analysis of integrated efforts across regional and national medical centers.

Main Results:

• Identified barriers and proposed solutions for combining practice, quality improvement, and research.
• Highlighted the critical function of nurse leaders in interdisciplinary collaborations.
• Demonstrated the potential for nurse leaders to drive organizational goals through integrated initiatives.

Conclusions:

• Nursing leadership is essential for effective systems-level healthcare improvement.
• Integrating research, quality improvement, and practice requires strategic partnerships and addressing identified barriers.
• Nurse leaders play a pivotal role in advancing healthcare delivery science and achieving organizational objectives.