From bench to bedside: how do we advance clinical research for nurses?

By definition, nurses primarily work in clinically facing roles involving direct patient care. This is being reinforced due to the demands of acuity of care and patients with chronic conditions requiring complex healthcare needs. The nursing profession has responded to this by the development of advanced practice nurse (APN) and the nurse practitioner role. One of the four pillars of advanced practice is research, and this role is well established in some countries. However, there is still a huge variability in the evolution of the APN role across the world and the scope of the role with some having a fully autonomous role and others being restricted in terms of prescribing and providing treatment for example. Although these roles require demonstration of expertise in multiple facets of the profession, including research, they are strongly grounded in clinical work and direct patient care...