A Follow-Up Study Of A Education Program'S Importance For Clinical Nurses' Research Competencies In A Danish University Hospital

Background: Evidence -based practice is imperative to ensure high quality nursing care and to meet the patients' needs. Evidence -based practice requires a development of nurses' research competencies. Studies show that a structured education program can support the development of nurses' research competencies. The aim of this study was to examine the influence of a combined project-, supervision and education program on nurses' self-reported research competencies. Methods: A questionnaire was conducted before and after a combined project-, supervision and education program. It was distributed to all participating nurses. The program consisted of a 2-year course for clinical nurses encompassing a workshop followed by eight modules and 11 days of education. Results: Nurses participating in the program devdoped their research competencies. Prior to participating, 38.6% of the nurses answered that they had limited or none skills within research whereas this was only the case for 4.8 % following participation in the program. In particular, improvements relate to understanding and handling quantitative and qualitative research designs as well as formulating and developing research questions and research designs. Conclusion: Nurses significantly improved their research competencies. The project-, supervision and education program has the potential to strengthen the link between research and clinical practice and he disseminated to other hospitals and institutions who wish to increase research activities, improve research competencies among clinical nurses and build research capacity within the institution. Furthermore, it may have the potential to strengthen evidence-based practice in clinical nursing.