Assignment: Evidence-Based Project, Part 1: Identifying Research Methodologies
Is there a difference between “common practice” and “best practice”?
When you first went to work for your current organization, experienced colleagues may have shared with you details about processes and procedures. Perhaps you even attended an orientation session to brief you on these matters. As a “rookie,” you likely kept the nature of your questions to those with answers that would best help you perform your new role. It is common for new employees to have questions about processes and procedures when they start working for a new organization. Experienced colleagues can be a valuable resource for learning about these things, as can orientation sessions and other training materials. It is important for new employees to ask questions and seek guidance in order to understand their role and responsibilities and to be able to perform their job effectively. As a “rookie,” it is natural to focus on asking questions that will help you learn the most important information and get up to speed quickly.
Over time and with experience, perhaps you recognized aspects of these processes and procedures that you wanted to question further. This is the realm of clinical inquiry.
Clinical inquiry is the practice of asking questions about clinical practice. To continuously improve patient care, all nurses should consistently use clinical inquiry to question why they are doing something the way they are doing it. Do they know why it is done this way, or is it just because we have always done it this way? Is it a common practice or a best practice?
In this Assignment, you will identify clinical areas of interest and inquiry and practice searching for research in support of maintaining or changing these practices. You will also analyze this research to compare research methodologies employed.
To Prepare:
• Review the Resources and identify a clinical issue of interest that can form the basis of a clinical inquiry. Keep in mind that the clinical issue you identify for your research will stay the same for the entire course.
• Based on the clinical issue of interest and using keywords related to the clinical issue of interest, search at least four different databases in the Walden Library to identify at least four relevant peer-reviewed articles related to your clinical issue of interest. You should not be using systematic reviews for this assignment, select original research articles.
• Review the results of your peer-reviewed research and reflect on the process of using an unfiltered database to search for peer-reviewed research.
• Reflect on the types of research methodologies contained in the four relevant peer-reviewed articles you selected.
Part 1: Identifying Research Methodologies
After reading each of the four peer-reviewed articles you selected, use the Matrix Worksheet template to analyze the methodologies applied in each of the four peer-reviewed articles. Your analysis should include the following:
• The full citation of each peer-reviewed article in APA format.
• A brief (1-paragraph) statement explaining why you chose this peer-reviewed article and/or how it relates to your clinical issue of interest, including a brief explanation of the ethics of research related to your clinical issue of interest.
• A brief (1-2 paragraph) description of the aims of the research of each peer-reviewed article.
• A brief (1-2 paragraph) description of the research methodology used. Be sure to identify if the methodology used was qualitative, quantitative, or a mixed-methods approach. Be specific.
• A brief (1- to 2-paragraph) description of the strengths of each of the research methodologies used, including reliability and validity of how the methodology was applied in each of the peer-reviewed articles you selected.
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Matrix Worksheet
Matrix Worksheet
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Use this document to complete Part 1 of the Module 2 Assessment, Evidence-Based Project, Part 1: Identifying Research Methodologies
Full citation of selected article Article #1 Article #2 Article #3 Article #4
Driscoll, A., Grant, M. J., Carroll, D., Dalton, S., Deaton, C., Jones, I., & Astin, F. (2018). The effect of nurse-to-patient ratios on nurse-sensitive patient outcomes in acute specialist units: a systematic review and meta-analysis. European Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing, 17(1), 6-22.
Molina-Mula, J., & Gallo-Estrada, J. (2020). Impact of nurse-patient relationship on quality of care and patient autonomy in decision-making. International journal of environmental research and public health, 17(3), 835.
McHugh, M. D., Aiken, L. H., Sloane, D. M., Windsor, C., Douglas, C., & Yates, P. (2021). Effects of nurse-to-patient ratio legislation on nurse staffing and patient mortality, readmissions, and length of stay: a prospective study in a panel of hospitals. The Lancet, 397(10288), 1905-1913.
Qureshi, S. M., Purdy, N., Mohani, A., & Neumann, W. P. (2019). Predicting the effect of nurse–patient ratio on nurse workload and care quality using discrete event simulation. Journal of nursing management, 27(5), 971-980.
Why you chose this article and/or how it relates to the clinical issue of interest (include a brief explanation of the ethics of research related to your clinical issue of interest)
The article was selected since it is a peer-reviewed paper addressing the topic of interest. The paper is current and presents information from acute care unit. The paper provides information on the relationship between nurse-patient ratio and patient outcome. Ethics of research involve seeking informed consent among the researchers.
The article addresses a critical issue of autonomy and decision-making. It shows that low patient to nurse ratio is detrimental to patient outcomes. Ethical issues of privacy of data are critical during the research.
The article was selected since it provides unique information about the need for legislation. Policies to govern staffing is needed to avoid high workload on few staff. The clinical issue requires maleficence which involves using the data for the intended purpose.
The paper is selected since it involves event simulation. It provides a better picture of the dynamics of nurse-patient ratio and the impact on healthcare outcomes.
Brief description of the aims of the research of each peer-reviewed article The aim of the paper is to explain the relationship between nurse-patient ratio and patient outcome in acute care units. The paper aims to discuss autonomy and decision-making in nurse-patient ratio. The article articulates the need for legislation to enhance patient-nurse ratio. The paper explains the need to enhance nurse-patient ratio using event simulation.
Brief description of the research methodology used Be sure to identify if the methodology used was qualitative, quantitative, or a mixed-methods approach. Be specific.
The article uses quantitative research methodology to show that higher nurse-patient ration reduces patient mortality.
The study used phenomenological qualitative study method.
The research used qualitative cross-sectional method.
The study used quantitative observational method.
A brief description of the strengths of each of the research methodologies used, including reliability and validity of how the methodology was applied in each of the peer-reviewed articles you selected.
The research paper provides a relationship between two factors affecting patients.
The article shows the need for improvement by indicating the negative effects of poor patient-nurse ratio.
The paper proposes a legislation which can be used to enhance quality of care. ““
Event simulation is one of the strengths since it provides a better view of the patient-nurse ratio.
General Notes/Comments
The research paper provides a relationship between two factors affecting patients. Future papers should focus on the impact of nurse-patient ratio on job satisfaction. The paper addresses an interesting issue since the pandemic started. It shows that nurse-patient ration affects patient care. A study on the nurse-patient ratio is effective in addressing the challenge of poor staffing. Legislation is essential to address high workload and burnout among nurses. Nurse-patient ratio affects quality of patient outcome. Healthcare facilities should use the information to make strategic changes in their staffing policies.
