- Email: [email protected]
A researcher as resource, mentor, and preceptor
Ask An Expert Edited by Veronica F. Rempusheski Veronica F. Rempusheski, PhD, RN, is Nurse Researcher at Beth Israel Hospital, Boston, MA 02215.
A Researcher as Resource, Mentor, and Preceptor S A PANEL member at a recent nursing research forum I was asked, " H o w does a clinical nurse get involved in nursing research? How do you know with whom to talk? Whom to approach?" I was surprised by the question because I thought nurses knew the various means available to them to meet and interact with their colleagues engaged in research. I was wrong. This was a very serious question--even more serious from my perspective because some interested nurses either did not know the answer, were reluctant, or did not know how to approach a researcher.
A
Question The rephrased question I will address is: How does a clinical nurse who is interested in being involved in the conduct of research or in the utilization of research results find out about others engaged in these processes for the purpose of collaborating, seeking advice/consultation, being mentored, or being precepted?
Answer In Shamian's first " A s k An Expert" column (1988), four resources were listed as available to a nurse in clinical practice to initiate a research project. One of the four resources was "See if you can link up with a nurse scholar." To answer the above question, I will focus on the roles of a researcher as resource person, mentor, and research preceptor. I will use the generic term researcher to connote an individual involved in the research or research utilization process. This researcher may or may not be a nurse. I will expand on Shamian's suggestion by elaborating on how a clinical nurse might (a) find out about scholars or researchers (In other words, where does one find such a person? How do you know if a particular researcher is the person for you to link up with?); and (b) determine the actions to be taken to make the "link" (In other Applied/Vursing Research,Vol. 5, No. 2 (May),
1992: pp. 105-107
words, what must one do to operationalize the interest in research? What commitment of time, energy, and t~lents are needed? How do you express your assets and commitment to a researcher?). WHERE DOES ONE FIND A RESEARCHER?
There are formal and informal sources, forums, situations, and settings in which to find researchers (Table 1). Most of the examples listed in Table 1 may be familiar to you. I would like to highlight a few examples. First, the following is from the formal/professional list. The Sigma Theta Tau International Directory of Nurse Researchers, now in its third edition, lists topics by content, process, and theoretical divisions for 2,467 nurse researchers (Hudgings, Hogan, & Stevenson, 1990), Local directories may be available from organizations or societies, or academic or clinical settings. One example of a local directory from a society resulted from a survey of 700 + members of the Alpha Chi Chapter (Boston College, Boston, MA) of Sigma Theta Tau International that was conducted by the chapter's Research Development Committee in 1988. The Nursing Research Directory (Rempusheski, 1989) is a 72-page bound document that illustrates research needs, interests, and assets of the membership of Alpha Chi. The survey tool was adapted from the tool used for the 1986 Sigma Theta Tau International survey; data from the local survey were categorized and displayed in a manner similar to the second edition of the Directory of Nurse Researchers (Bamard, Kiener, & Fawcett, 1987) with the addition of available consultants among Alpha Chi members, their areas of expertise, fees, and contact information. One example of a local directory from a clinical setting was the pocket-sized bound Beth Israel Hospital (BIH)
Nursing Services 1990 Appointment Calendar Copyright © 1992 by W.B. Saunders Company 0897-189719210502-000355.00/0
105
106
ASK AN EXPERT
Table 1. Where to Find a Researcher Sources
Forums
Situations
Settings
Formal/Professional Published Directories
Panels
Journals
Conferences, Seminars, Workshops, Meetings (Local, regional, national, international)
Conference Proceedings
Lectures (community academic) Committee meetings
or
College or University Clinical Sites; Hospital Home Health Agency, Nursing Home
Abstracts
Industry or business
Newsletters
Research Centers or Institutes
Organizations, Societies Informal/Nonprofessional Media: Newspaper o r magazine articles"
Community or political hearings
Friends, relatives, neighbors, colleagues
Social gatherings
Health club or gym
Tours or holiday trips
Church Shopping mall, department store, grocery store
or
Jet or airport
(Sirois & Wandel, 1990). The 18-page directory portion of the calendar was divided into five sections of information for nurses, one o f which was resources. This section was subdivided into research, professional organizations, and publications with a BIH nurse listed as a resource because he or she was either an officer, committee member/chairperson, editor, or advisory member. Contact number and location was listed for each resource person. The informal/nonprofessional list in Table 1 is not meant to be inclusive; rather, it is one person's perspective--compiled from my own experiences. These experiences may be more commonly referred to as serendipitous encounters with a researcher who may give you new insight after a brief one-time discussion, or someone with whom you develop a lasting colleagial relationship based on a mutual interest. Last summer, I arrived in St. Petersburg just after the resolution of the coup attempt in the Soviet Union. As I waited in line to enter the Hermitage Museum, I was approached by an American man who worked for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and was seemingly anxious to share with me his reactions to being in St. Petersburg during the coup attempt. As our conversation progressed, we discovered we shared a c o m m o n interest as scientists.
We resumed our converstation a few hours later (inside the Hermitage) and discussed some of the clinical and scientific aspects o f osteoporosis, one of the many collaborative research projects between the Soviet Space Program and NASA. Although our subject population of interest was different (astronauts vs. the elderly), the study of the osteoporosis that occurs in Soviet astronauts after a long duration on a space station (and its reversibility) and the irreversible osteoporosis in the elderly resulted in an encounter that gave me new insight. I continue to share, discuss, and debate theoretical articles with a scientist I met on a jet 4 years ago, and many evenings at the health club are spent unwinding in " l i g h t " scientific discussions on parallel stairmasters or treadmills with other scientists/clinicians. DETERMINING A FIT BETWEEN YOU AND A RESEARCHER
There are no set rules for determining a fit between you and a researcher. However, keep in mind that "making a fit" is a two-person process; both individuals must determine the fit. Each of us must do some " h o m e w o r k " to determine individual areas of interest before we can share it with others and individual areas of need before we seek to learn from others. Questions to
107
ASK AN EXPERT
ponder include: What are my clinical interests? What problems, issues, or aspects of care stimulate my curiosity? How would I like to be involved in research? To what extent? What level of time and energy am I willing to expend or can I fit into my schedule? What are my assets, knowledge, skill, and talents in the scientific process? My areas of need or knowledge/skill deficit? What interpersonal qualities are important to me as I interact with others? What personality traits in myself or others impede my growth? What interpersonal or personality qualities do I have that may enhance or detract from a scientific experience with a colleague? In what ways do I usually seek out new activities or opportunities? If you have identified an individual with whom you want to work, find out as much as you can about that person. Do a review of the literature. Read what they have written. Listen attentively to their presentations. Now you are ready to put all this thinking and compiling into a plan of action. DEFINING YOUR INTEREST IN RESEARCH
The first part of your plan may be to write and define your ideas. Be prepared with this information before you approach the researcher with whom you are seeking a relationship. Consider writing a letter and follow with a phone call discussion and a request for an appointment to meet in person. As in real life, encounters with another are neither all negative nor all positive. Respect, patience, and an honest, well thought-out approach is much appreciated by all of us. I want to know, as a researcher, what a clinical nurse thinks about research. I look for an ability to articulate something
of substance about research, a specific area of interest, and evidence that some forethought has preceded our encounter. This kind of preparation presumes a formal approach to a researcher; however, once all this thinking and planning have been accomplished, the potential for informal approaches is enhanced. When I receive a letter, telephone call, or meet a nurse who is seeking advice, consultation, collaboration, or a mentored/percepted experience, I can determine the best action in the least amount of time if we are both clear in our communication. EXPRESSING COMMITMENT OF TIME, ENERGY, AND TALENTS
An organized approach to communication is the best way to express commitment of time, energy, and talents. This may entail updating a vitae, compiling samples of past scholarly work, writing objectives and/or short-term and long-term goals, and drafting a schedule of available time in hours per week, per month, or a 1-year projection of potential activities and time allotment. This is a formal approach. In an informal encounter, the expression of time, energy, and talents may be discussed first between two individuals and then mutually formalized at a later point in time. ENDNOTE
For those of you who want to try this approach, write me a letter stating your research interest and/ or question. I would like to begin a dialogue with you in this column that may broaden your audience for colleagues with whom you could work on a scholarly idea. I look forward to hearing from you.
REFERENCES Barnard, R., Kiener, M., & Fawcett, J. (Eds). (1987). Directory of nurse researchers (2nd ed.). Indianapolis, IN: Sigma Theta Tau International. Hudgings, C., Hogan, R., & Stevenson, J. (Eds). (1990). Directory of nurse researchers (3rd ed.). Indianapolis, IN: Sigma Theta Tau International. Rempusheski, V.F. (Ed.). (1989). Nursing research directory. Chestnut Hill, MA: Research Development Committee,
1986-89 of Alpha Chi Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau, Inc., Boston College School of Nursing. Shamian, J. (1988). Ask an expert. Applied Nursing Research, 1, 49. Sirois, C., & Wandel, J.C. (Eds). (1990). Beth Israel Hospital Nursing Services 1990 appointment calendar. Boston, MA: Beth Israel Hospital.
A Researcher as Resource, Mentor, and Preceptor S A PANEL member at a recent nursing research forum I was asked, " H o w does a clinical nurse get involved in nursing research? How do you know with whom to talk? Whom to approach?" I was surprised by the question because I thought nurses knew the various means available to them to meet and interact with their colleagues engaged in research. I was wrong. This was a very serious question--even more serious from my perspective because some interested nurses either did not know the answer, were reluctant, or did not know how to approach a researcher.
A
Question The rephrased question I will address is: How does a clinical nurse who is interested in being involved in the conduct of research or in the utilization of research results find out about others engaged in these processes for the purpose of collaborating, seeking advice/consultation, being mentored, or being precepted?
Answer In Shamian's first " A s k An Expert" column (1988), four resources were listed as available to a nurse in clinical practice to initiate a research project. One of the four resources was "See if you can link up with a nurse scholar." To answer the above question, I will focus on the roles of a researcher as resource person, mentor, and research preceptor. I will use the generic term researcher to connote an individual involved in the research or research utilization process. This researcher may or may not be a nurse. I will expand on Shamian's suggestion by elaborating on how a clinical nurse might (a) find out about scholars or researchers (In other words, where does one find such a person? How do you know if a particular researcher is the person for you to link up with?); and (b) determine the actions to be taken to make the "link" (In other Applied/Vursing Research,Vol. 5, No. 2 (May),
1992: pp. 105-107
words, what must one do to operationalize the interest in research? What commitment of time, energy, and t~lents are needed? How do you express your assets and commitment to a researcher?). WHERE DOES ONE FIND A RESEARCHER?
There are formal and informal sources, forums, situations, and settings in which to find researchers (Table 1). Most of the examples listed in Table 1 may be familiar to you. I would like to highlight a few examples. First, the following is from the formal/professional list. The Sigma Theta Tau International Directory of Nurse Researchers, now in its third edition, lists topics by content, process, and theoretical divisions for 2,467 nurse researchers (Hudgings, Hogan, & Stevenson, 1990), Local directories may be available from organizations or societies, or academic or clinical settings. One example of a local directory from a society resulted from a survey of 700 + members of the Alpha Chi Chapter (Boston College, Boston, MA) of Sigma Theta Tau International that was conducted by the chapter's Research Development Committee in 1988. The Nursing Research Directory (Rempusheski, 1989) is a 72-page bound document that illustrates research needs, interests, and assets of the membership of Alpha Chi. The survey tool was adapted from the tool used for the 1986 Sigma Theta Tau International survey; data from the local survey were categorized and displayed in a manner similar to the second edition of the Directory of Nurse Researchers (Bamard, Kiener, & Fawcett, 1987) with the addition of available consultants among Alpha Chi members, their areas of expertise, fees, and contact information. One example of a local directory from a clinical setting was the pocket-sized bound Beth Israel Hospital (BIH)
Nursing Services 1990 Appointment Calendar Copyright © 1992 by W.B. Saunders Company 0897-189719210502-000355.00/0
105
106
ASK AN EXPERT
Table 1. Where to Find a Researcher Sources
Forums
Situations
Settings
Formal/Professional Published Directories
Panels
Journals
Conferences, Seminars, Workshops, Meetings (Local, regional, national, international)
Conference Proceedings
Lectures (community academic) Committee meetings
or
College or University Clinical Sites; Hospital Home Health Agency, Nursing Home
Abstracts
Industry or business
Newsletters
Research Centers or Institutes
Organizations, Societies Informal/Nonprofessional Media: Newspaper o r magazine articles"
Community or political hearings
Friends, relatives, neighbors, colleagues
Social gatherings
Health club or gym
Tours or holiday trips
Church Shopping mall, department store, grocery store
or
Jet or airport
(Sirois & Wandel, 1990). The 18-page directory portion of the calendar was divided into five sections of information for nurses, one o f which was resources. This section was subdivided into research, professional organizations, and publications with a BIH nurse listed as a resource because he or she was either an officer, committee member/chairperson, editor, or advisory member. Contact number and location was listed for each resource person. The informal/nonprofessional list in Table 1 is not meant to be inclusive; rather, it is one person's perspective--compiled from my own experiences. These experiences may be more commonly referred to as serendipitous encounters with a researcher who may give you new insight after a brief one-time discussion, or someone with whom you develop a lasting colleagial relationship based on a mutual interest. Last summer, I arrived in St. Petersburg just after the resolution of the coup attempt in the Soviet Union. As I waited in line to enter the Hermitage Museum, I was approached by an American man who worked for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and was seemingly anxious to share with me his reactions to being in St. Petersburg during the coup attempt. As our conversation progressed, we discovered we shared a c o m m o n interest as scientists.
We resumed our converstation a few hours later (inside the Hermitage) and discussed some of the clinical and scientific aspects o f osteoporosis, one of the many collaborative research projects between the Soviet Space Program and NASA. Although our subject population of interest was different (astronauts vs. the elderly), the study of the osteoporosis that occurs in Soviet astronauts after a long duration on a space station (and its reversibility) and the irreversible osteoporosis in the elderly resulted in an encounter that gave me new insight. I continue to share, discuss, and debate theoretical articles with a scientist I met on a jet 4 years ago, and many evenings at the health club are spent unwinding in " l i g h t " scientific discussions on parallel stairmasters or treadmills with other scientists/clinicians. DETERMINING A FIT BETWEEN YOU AND A RESEARCHER
There are no set rules for determining a fit between you and a researcher. However, keep in mind that "making a fit" is a two-person process; both individuals must determine the fit. Each of us must do some " h o m e w o r k " to determine individual areas of interest before we can share it with others and individual areas of need before we seek to learn from others. Questions to
107
ASK AN EXPERT
ponder include: What are my clinical interests? What problems, issues, or aspects of care stimulate my curiosity? How would I like to be involved in research? To what extent? What level of time and energy am I willing to expend or can I fit into my schedule? What are my assets, knowledge, skill, and talents in the scientific process? My areas of need or knowledge/skill deficit? What interpersonal qualities are important to me as I interact with others? What personality traits in myself or others impede my growth? What interpersonal or personality qualities do I have that may enhance or detract from a scientific experience with a colleague? In what ways do I usually seek out new activities or opportunities? If you have identified an individual with whom you want to work, find out as much as you can about that person. Do a review of the literature. Read what they have written. Listen attentively to their presentations. Now you are ready to put all this thinking and compiling into a plan of action. DEFINING YOUR INTEREST IN RESEARCH
The first part of your plan may be to write and define your ideas. Be prepared with this information before you approach the researcher with whom you are seeking a relationship. Consider writing a letter and follow with a phone call discussion and a request for an appointment to meet in person. As in real life, encounters with another are neither all negative nor all positive. Respect, patience, and an honest, well thought-out approach is much appreciated by all of us. I want to know, as a researcher, what a clinical nurse thinks about research. I look for an ability to articulate something
of substance about research, a specific area of interest, and evidence that some forethought has preceded our encounter. This kind of preparation presumes a formal approach to a researcher; however, once all this thinking and planning have been accomplished, the potential for informal approaches is enhanced. When I receive a letter, telephone call, or meet a nurse who is seeking advice, consultation, collaboration, or a mentored/percepted experience, I can determine the best action in the least amount of time if we are both clear in our communication. EXPRESSING COMMITMENT OF TIME, ENERGY, AND TALENTS
An organized approach to communication is the best way to express commitment of time, energy, and talents. This may entail updating a vitae, compiling samples of past scholarly work, writing objectives and/or short-term and long-term goals, and drafting a schedule of available time in hours per week, per month, or a 1-year projection of potential activities and time allotment. This is a formal approach. In an informal encounter, the expression of time, energy, and talents may be discussed first between two individuals and then mutually formalized at a later point in time. ENDNOTE
For those of you who want to try this approach, write me a letter stating your research interest and/ or question. I would like to begin a dialogue with you in this column that may broaden your audience for colleagues with whom you could work on a scholarly idea. I look forward to hearing from you.
REFERENCES Barnard, R., Kiener, M., & Fawcett, J. (Eds). (1987). Directory of nurse researchers (2nd ed.). Indianapolis, IN: Sigma Theta Tau International. Hudgings, C., Hogan, R., & Stevenson, J. (Eds). (1990). Directory of nurse researchers (3rd ed.). Indianapolis, IN: Sigma Theta Tau International. Rempusheski, V.F. (Ed.). (1989). Nursing research directory. Chestnut Hill, MA: Research Development Committee,
1986-89 of Alpha Chi Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau, Inc., Boston College School of Nursing. Shamian, J. (1988). Ask an expert. Applied Nursing Research, 1, 49. Sirois, C., & Wandel, J.C. (Eds). (1990). Beth Israel Hospital Nursing Services 1990 appointment calendar. Boston, MA: Beth Israel Hospital.