Domain 4: Scholarship for the Nursing Discipline

Domain 4: Scholarship for the Nursing Discipline

Descriptor: The generation, synthesis, translation, application, and dissemination of nursing knowledge to improve health and transform health care (AACN, 2018). 

Contextual Statement: Nursing scholarship informs science, enhances clinical practice, influences policy, and impacts best practices for educating nurses as clinicians, scholars, and leaders. Scholarship is inclusive of discovery, application, integration, and teaching. While not all inclusive, the scholarship of discovery includes primary empirical research, analysis of large data sets, theory development, and methodological studies. The scholarship of practice interprets, draws together, applies, and brings new insight to original research (Boyer, 1990; AACN 2018). 

Knowledge of the basic principles of the research process, including the ability to critique research and determine its applicability to nursing’s body of knowledge, is critical. Ethical comportment in the conduct and dissemination of research and advocacy for human subjects are essential components of nursing’s role in the process of improving health and health care. Whereas the research process is the generation of new knowledge, evidence-based practice (EBP) is the process for the application, translation, and implementation of best evidence into clinical decision-making. While evidence may emerge from research, EBP extends beyond just data to include patient preferences and values as well as clinical expertise. Nurses, as innovators and leaders within the interprofessional team, use the uniqueness of nursing in nurse-patient relationships to provide optimal care and address health inequities, structural racism, and systemic inequity 

4.1 Advance the scholarship of nursing. 

4.1h Apply and critically evaluate advanced knowledge in a defined area of nursing practice. 

4.1i Engage in scholarship to advance health. 

4.1j Discern appropriate applications of quality improvement, research, and evaluation methodologies. 

4.1k Collaborate to advance one’s scholarship. 

4.1l Disseminate one’s scholarship to diverse audiences using a variety of approaches or modalities. 

4.1m Advocate within the interprofessional team and with other stakeholders for the contributions of nursing scholarship. 

4.2 Integrate best evidence into nursing practice. 

4.2f Use diverse sources of evidence to inform practice. 

4.2g Lead the translation of evidence into practice. 

4.2h Address opportunities for innovation and changes in practice. 

4.2i Collaborate in the development of new/revised policy or regulation in the light of new evidence. 

4.2j Articulate inconsistencies between practice policies and best evidence. 

4.2k Evaluate outcomes and impact of new practices based on the evidence. 

4.3 Promote the ethical conduct of scholarly activities. 

4.3e Identify and mitigate potential risks and areas of ethical concern in the conduct of scholarly activities. 

4.3f Apply IRB guidelines throughout the scholarship process. 

4.3g Ensure the protection of participants in the conduct of scholarship. 

4.3h Implement processes that support ethical conduct in practice and scholarship. 

4.3i Apply ethical principles to the dissemination of nursing scholarship. 

(American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2021, pp. 37-38)

References

American Association of Colleges of Nursing. (2021). The essentials: Core competencies for professional nursing education. AACNnursing.   https://www.aacnnursing.org/Portals/0/PDFs/Publications/Essentials-2021.pdf

Related Evidence

For the NURS 5105: Research Methodology course, I completed a research paper guided by the population, intervention, and outcome (PIO) question, “In adult hospitalized patients at risk for developing delirium (P), are pharmacological interventions administered prophylactically (I) effective in reducing the occurrence of hospital-acquired delirium (O)?” I performed extensive research, reviewing multiple articles during an initial literature search on the PubMed database. Using the Rapid Appraisal Checklist, I selected five articles that detailed randomized controlled trials aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of various prophylactic pharmacological interventions in preventing hospital-acquired delirium. Additionally, I included pertinent article information for all included studies in an attached evidenced-based table. Through this assignment, I not only gained a deeper understanding of hospital-acquired delirium and its treatment but also developed my skill in appraising research articles and recognizing their relevance to clinical practice.

For the NURS 52574: Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing Theory II course, I completed a research paper explaining the neurobiology of trauma. I identified the areas of the brain, neurotransmitters and receptors, and brain circuitry involved in the neurobiology of trauma. Additionally, I explained which neurobiological events were responsible for specific symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). I then discussed pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment options for patients suffering from PTSD. I concluded this paper with implications for practice.

Reflection

 Both these papers’ subject matter was relevant to my future practice as a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner, and they enabled me to achieve Domain 4.1h, “Apply and critically evaluate advanced knowledge in a defined area of nursing practice,” as well as 4.1j, “Discern appropriate applications of quality improvement, research, and evaluation methodologies” (American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2021, p. 37). Furthermore, the knowledge that I gained in completing these assignments will enable me to achieve domain 4.2f, “Use diverse sources of evidence to inform practice” (American Association of Colleges of Nursing, p. 37), when I enter my future role as a provider.

References

American Association of Colleges of Nursing. (2021). The essentials: Core competencies for professional nursing education. AACNnursing.   https://www.aacnnursing.org/Portals/0/PDFs/Publications/Essentials-2021.pdf