Making research useful to the practising nurse

This paper examines the problem of developing research in nursing and the challenge of establishing its relevance and usefulness to the practising nurse. It is accepted that considerable progress has been made worldwide in recent years in the development of nursing research but nurses remain generally remote from the intellectual challenge of an evolving research-based profession. The publication of research reports is examined in the light of the acknowledged need for dissemination of research findings and differences in their presentation are noted as evidence of an apparent discouragement of the practising nurse from sharing in the accumulated nursing knowledge through research. It is argued that learning about research should be brought into the centre of basic nursing education and the growth in clinical research should be encouraged as a means of demonstrating the usefulness of research to the practising nurse.