Currently, health care in the US has been made accessible and affordable to everyone, as evidenced by the increase in the number of patients in the health care system. The nursing profession is already facing numerous challenges to deliver good quality and safe patient care. Therefore, there is a need for growth in remodeling the nursing profession to meet the high demand of an aging population with more complex needs. The nurses have to quickly adapt to a new world of technology that is complex and sophisticated. The nurse, as the primary health care provider, has the power to provide a consistent environment to the patient. In order to direct the nursing profession forward, professional nursing …show more content…
Professional nurses can contribute by uniting with other practicing nurses to enjoy the benefits of theory- based nursing and to give feedback to nurse researchers and theorists on nursing practice.
The current role of the nurse in research
The research role in today’s world is increasingly important. Research in nursing provides a venue for resourceful, intellectual accomplishments that are driven by a desire to advance the care of patients. To improve the quality of nursing practice, every nurse should actively be involved in research. During research, nurses learn important aspects such as team participation, data collection, and leading a project. The American Nurses Association’s (ANA) Professional Standards define the nurse’s responsibility to actively participate in research. ANA encourages nurses to identify clinical problems related to patient care and the nursing practice, to collect data, to participate in committees, to be a resource to peers, to analyze and interpret, and to apply research to practice, thereby creating and changing policies based on research findings (ANA Nursing World, 2014). Today’s nursing practice can’t simply rely on what has worked in the past. The aging population, the access to care, and the technology progression requiring higher levels of care challenge nurses to be empowered to conduct, understand, and apply research to the nursing process. Researchers have to evaluate the current practice to see if it is