There is a small, but growing group of people who are pushing patient care into the future: nurse scientists.

Nurse scientists, also referred to as nurse researchers, are nurses who have pursued a PhD and conduct research. Most commonly found in academia, nurse scientists often apply for grants, teach students and lead research programs. Notably, this role is different from research nurses, who typically are registered nurses or nurse practitioners involved in conducting research, such as enrolling patients into clinical trials, but do not lead their own studies.

Recently, nurse scientists have been migrating to the hospital setting while maintaining a direct connection to clinical practice. This shift can be traced to the role’s Magnet designation, which put a major emphasis on research conducted by nurses.

“We’re still a relatively small group within the broader nursing workforce, but I think that’s changing,” Virginia Sun, PhD, co-leader of City of Hope’s Cancer Control and Populations Sciences Program, and professor in department of population sciences and department of surgery, told Becker’s. “Many bedside nurses who get involved in evidence-based practice projects discover a passion for research and decide to pursue a PhD. That pipeline is growing, and with it, the impact nurse scientists can have both at the hospital level and nationally.”

Nurse scientists offer a number of benefits outside of traditional research, including providing advanced education and professional development opportunities, mentoring, boosting Magnet credentials, lead grant writing, protocol design and scholarly dissemination, and bridging the gap between bedside care and evidence-based innovation.

“Nurse scientists will be the ones who put black-and-white evidence to the value of nursing,” Cheryl Jones, MSN, RN, NEA-BC, Magnet program director at MUSC Health in Charleston, S.C., told Becker’s. “As patients in the inpatient setting become increasingly complex, their role will be even more critical. I think we’ll see larger departments, more nurse scientists across hospitals, and even greater integration into both practice and research.”

‘A critical lens’ in patient care

Many of the top 100 systems in the U.S. have at least one clinically based nurse scientist on staff. They work closely with nurses, physicians and other clinicians to address patient care issues.

“Nurses bring a critical lens to patient care challenges, and nurse scientists can back that up with evidence, identify issues and move solutions forward. In such complex healthcare systems, that voice is essential,” Marilyn Schallom, PhD, interim director of the nursing science doctorate program and a research scientist at Barnes Jewish Hospital and Barnes Jewish College Goldfarb School of Nursing in St. Louis, told Becker’s.

These research projects are inspired by a number of circumstances.

“If a nurse asks why newborns transported to Cone Health aren’t placed in adaptive devices to keep them safe, that sparks a researchable question,” Marjorie Jenkins, PhD, RN, director of nursing research for the Greensboro, N.C.-based health system, told Becker’s. “Sometimes the literature shows a clear evidence gap, and we generate new research. Other times, the evidence already exists, and the task is to translate it into practice. We might start with a pilot quality project, then expand it systemwide.”

At New York City-based NYU Langone Health, nurse scientists are working on a study across two of its facilities aimed at understanding what support mothers and families need to sustain breastfeeding.

In addition to aiding research, nurse scientists at New York City-based NewYork-Presbyterian are helping more nurses get engaged in projects and removing barriers such as lack of time, resources and mentorship. Since 2014, nurse scientists have expanded their influence to 11 hospitals, trained more than 3,000 nurses and supported more than 100 research protocols, Wilhelmina Manzano, MSN, RN, group senior vice president and chief nursing executive at NewYork-Presbyterian, told Becker’s. These projects have reduced nonessential emergency visits, improved ICU delirium detection and reduced barriers in pediatric mental healthcare. It has also improved critical thinking and scholarly work among nurses.

At Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, nurse scientists tackle sizable issues. Margaret McCabe, PhD, RN, senior director of nursing research and evidence-based practice at CHOP, recalled an experience early in her career, two advanced practice nurses approached her with a nursing intervention study that had the potential to reduce length of stay for patients with surgically placed feeding tubes.

“At the time, I thought that goal might be overly ambitious since so many factors influence length of stay, but they were determined,” she said. “With physician support, they made a practice change, and sure enough, they successfully reduced length of stay for these children. That experience really reinforced the power of nurse-driven inquiry.”

In a fast-paced clinical environment, it can be easy to jump into solutions before sufficiently identifying the problem, Dr. McCabe said. Nurse scientists help slow the process to ensure systematic, evidence-based approaches are applied that will produce the most effective and sustainable outcomes. This approach leads to better patient outcomes and more efficient resource use.

“I believe hospitals will increasingly recognize the value of nurse scientists in improving patient outcomes, both inside the hospital and in the broader community,” Dr. Schallom said. “As more nurse leaders earn doctoral degrees, they understand the importance of having nurse scientists on the team. Overall, I expect the role of nurse scientists to keep expanding and becoming more central to healthcare delivery.”

The post A nurse role pushing healthcare into the future appeared first on Becker’s Hospital Review | Healthcare News & Analysis.