Clinical nursing research priorities in Australian critical care: a pilot study

The aims of this research project were to identify areas for research in Australian critical care nursing with potential for improvement in patient care, and to advise nursing research policy and priorities with relevance to areas of patients' needs. Research participants represented a national sample of clinical nurse specialists (CNSs) and clinical nurse consultants (CNCs). The Delphi method was used to obtain the most reliable consensus of the specialist nurses, and over 238 research priorities were identified initially. In the final phase of the research nine high priorities were identified. The findings of this study suggest directions for clinical nursing research in critical care.