EMORY UNIVERSITY
NELL HODGSON WOODRUFF SCHOOL OF NURSING

TITLE: NRSG 507: Theory and Research Applications

CREDIT
ALLOCATION: 3 Semester hours

PLACEMENT: Tuesdays 1:00 – 3:50 PM Rm. 201

FACULTY: Catherine Vena, PhD, RN | Eun Seok (Julie) Cha, PhD, RN | Clinical Associate Professor | Assistant Professor | Room 224 | Room 234 | cvena@emory.edu | echa5@emory.edu | 404-727-8430 | 404-712-9578 | Office Hours: By appointment | Office Hours: By appointment |

COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course is an introduction to the theoretical and research foundations of advanced nursing practice. Key content to be covered includes the philosophical basis of science and knowledge, the structure and development of theory, qualitative and quantitative research methods, theory and research critique, and the application of theory and research in advanced nursing practice. It delineates research competencies for advanced practice nurses. The course encompasses critique of studies, application of research findings to practice (research utilization) and evaluation of outcomes attributable to advanced practice nursing. Ethical considerations related to research are integrated throughout the course.

COURSE OBJECTIVES/OUTCOMES:

1. Understand the relationship between theory, research, and practice.
2. Critique and evaluate theoretical perspectives and research methods used to address clinical problems.
3. Understand qualitative and quantitative methodologies and their appropriateness to examining clinical phenomena in advanced nursing practice.
4. Evaluate the clinical applicability of selected theories from nursing and related fields in providing high quality nursing care.
5. Evaluate the clinical applicability of selected research studies and develop strategies for incorporating the findings into clinical practice.
6. Use research concepts, methods, and theory to assess outcomes attributable to advanced nursing practice.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND EVALUATION:

Attendance at all classes and completion of assigned readings is expected. Participation in class discussion is strongly encouraged. 1. Evidence Based Practice Group Project 60% Over the course of the term, groups of 7-8 students will perform an evidence-based evaluation of a clinical topic of interest. The project will consist of four assignments: a. A 500 word abstract stating the problem and it’s significance. Development of a relevant clinical question in PICOT format – 10% b. A systematic search of the literature – 10% c. Data extraction, critical evaluation, and evidence level of selected papers. Synthesis and summary of the evidence – 15% d. Implementation of evidence. Based on the quality and quantity of the evidence, groups may chose to either 1) propose a clinical research project or 2) devise a strategy to implement the evidence in a clinical setting. This assignment also includes an in class presentation of the entire project. – 25%

2. Group Participation Grade 12% Groups work effectively only when they are organized, follow agreed rules of engagement, and all members complete their assigned role. For each assignment, students will complete peer evaluations within the respective groups. The group participation grade will be based on these evaluations. 3. Regulatory Issues Assignment 10% Each student will complete the Emory University IRB Human Subject Training course (CITI modules). Training will encompass the BASIC (not Refresher) Biomedical or Social Science course. Other modules (eg. VA) are optional. Documentation of Refresher course may be accepted if student has previously taken the Basic coursework. Copy of certificate of completion or copy of all modules completed with a passing score (70 or higher) is required to document completion. 4. Research Critique 10%
Students will select one article from their group project systematic review for critique during the semester. Using the posted guidelines, students should critically review the article in a paper of no more than 5 pages.

5. Distinguished Lecture 4%
Students will attend the lecture celebrating the 10th Anniversary of the Lillian Carter Center for International Nursing on November 9, 2011 from 7:00 – 8:30 PM. Students will prepare a paper (no more than one page) critically interacting with the lecture content.

6. Attendance at Group Presentations 4%
Students are expected to attend class on group presentation days (11/29/11 and 12/6/11). Attendance will be taken.

Required Textbook:

Melnyk, B and Fineout-Overholt, E (2010). Evidence-Based Practice in Nursing and Healthcare: A Guide to Best Practice (2nd ed). Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Recommended Textbooks:

Norman, G.R. and Streiner, D.L. (2003). PDQ Statistics (3rd edition). McGraw Hill.

Additional Resources Available through eTextbooks at the Health Sciences Library:

ESSENTIALS OF NURSING RESEARCH, 7th, Denise Polit, PhD, Cheryl Beck, DNSc, CNM, FAAN, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins , 2010, ISBN 10: 0781781531, ISBN 13: 9780781781534, © Wolters Kluwer Health | Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. 2010
EVALUATING RESEARCH FOR EVIDENCE-BASED NURSING PRACTICE, 1st, Jacqueline Fawcett, PHD, FAAN, Joan Garity, EDD, RN, F.A. Davis Company , 2009, ISBN 10: 0803614896, ISBN 13: 9780803614895, © by F. A. Davis Company 2009
NURSE TO NURSE: EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICE, 1st, June Larrabee, PhD, RN, McGraw Hill , 2009, ISBN 10: 0071493727, ISBN 13: 9780071493727, © by The McGraw-Hill Companies 2009

Blackboard
This online course organizer (www.classes.emory.edu) will be used for a variety of functions throughout the course (i.e. communicate announcements to the class, discussion boards for group projects, student assessment surveys). Students will need to check this site on a regular basis.

Academic Integrity:
In order to guide implementation and strengthen understanding of the School of Nursing Policies related to academic integrity, the following guidelines have been reproduced from the Student Handbook (2006-7).
Academic Misconduct:
Academic misconduct is an offense generally defined as any action or inaction that is offensive to the integrity and honesty of the members of the academic community. This offense includes, but is not limited to, the following: (a) Seeking, acquiring, receiving, or giving information about the conduct of an examination, knowing that the release of such information has not been authorized: (b) Plagiarizing: Definition of plagiarism
Plagiarism is a false representation of authorship and consists of the reproduction, in whole or in part, of a manifestation of intellectual endeavor by someone who by statement or implication holds himself/herself out as its creator. (c) Seeking, using, giving or obtaining unauthorized assistance or information in any academic assignment or examination.

Papers/Assignments:
Every paper submitted by the student needs to contain the sentence "This paper represents my own work in accordance with the School and University regulations." Critique papers are individual projects. Credit must be given for any source or reference used in completing the assignment. Use of another author’s words verbatim must be quoted and referenced appropriately. All papers must be written in APA style-5th edition, which will be used as a reference for grading. Only major extraneous circumstances will be considered for an extended submission date. Assignments submitted after 5:00 p.m., but on the due date, will have 2.5 points (based on a 100 point scale) automatically deducted from grade. Five (5) points will be deducted for each day late.

Grading Scale:
90-100= A
80-89= B
70-79=C
Below 70= F

Communication With Faculty Emory University’s policy for student-faculty communication states that email is the primary medium for official communication. “Students are expected to maintain their accounts and check their email regularly so that new mail will be properly received and read. Certain communications may be time-critical. While students may redirect email from their official University email address to another address (e.g., @gmail.com, @aol.com), the University is not responsible for the delivery of email by other service providers”. (Emory University Council of Deans and President’s Cabinet, 2004.)

Americans with Disabilities Act
Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing complies with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act. Students with disabilities who seek academic accommodations must first take appropriate documentation to the Office of Disability Services, located in suite 110 of the Administration Building, 201 Dowman Drive on the main campus. It is the responsibility of ODS to assess the documentation of each student requesting academic accommodations based on disability.

If you believe that you possess a disability for which reasonable accommodation must be made, you must consult with the instructor before the close of the second class meeting and make application to the ODS. If you become disabled during the course of the semester, you must notify the instructor as soon as possible and make application to the ODS. Reasonable accommodations will be made after notification of a disability, but cannot be retroactive if a disability is not disclosed in a timely manner.

Inclement Weather Procedure
In the event that a decision is made to close school due to inclement weather, a message will be placed at 404-727-1234.

Date and Faculty | Topics and Class Activities | Reading | Group Project/Assignments | 8/30 Vena, Cha | Introduction to the course * Course overview and assignments * APN competencies related to EBP * Effective group work * Discussion of Evidence-Based Practice * Types of evidence and evidence hierarchies | Penn State University EBP Tutorial: http://www.libraries.psu.edu/psul/tutorials/ebpt.htmlUniversity of North Carolina EBM Tutorial: http://www.hsl.unc.edu/Services/Tutorials/EBM/welcome.htmCentre for Evidence Based Medicine, University of Oxford: http://www.cebm.net/index.aspx?o=1025 Goode, C.J. (2000). What constitutes the “evidence” in evidence-based practice? Applied Nursing Research, 13(4), 222-225. | Select groups | 9/6 Carolyn BrownCha | Conducting effective literature searches and using ENDNOTE programHow to form pertinent clinical questions (PICO)Steps in performing a systematic reviews 2: An example , Newhouse article | Holopainen, A., Hakulinen-Viitanen, T., & Tossavainen, K. (2008). Systematic review: A method for nursing research. Nurse Researcher, 16(1), 72-83.Systematic Review Primer:https://webdrive.service.emory.edu/groups/som/healthlibrary/WebTut_SR/00-Intro-01.htmlSystematic Review Flow Chart: http://health.library.emory.edu/sites/health.library.emory.edu/files/SystematicReview-PublicHealth-flowchart.pdfNewhouse, R. P. et al. . (2011) Advanced Practice Nurse Outcomes 1990-2008: A systemic review, 29(5) https://www.nursingeconomics.net/ce/2013/article3001021.pdf Melnyk, & Fineout-Overholt, Chapter 2 | Select topic | 9/13 Cha | Quantitative Research Designs: I | Melnyk, & Fineout-Overholt, Chapter 17 | Abstract Due 9/16/11 by 5:00 pm |

Date and Faculty | Topics and Class Activities | Reading | Group Project/Assignments | 9/20 Melinda Higgins | Basic statistics * Distribution of data * Descriptive statistics * Hypothesis testing – test statistics * p-value * Correlation * Relative risk/odds ratio * Sensitivity/Specificity | ESSENTIALS OF NURSING RESEARCH, 7th, Denise Polit, PhD, Cheryl Beck, DNSc, CNM, FAAN, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins , 2010, ISBN 10: 0781781531, ISBN 13: 9780781781534, © Wolters Kluwer Health | Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. 2010Part 5 – Data Analysis and Interpretation – Read only “Statistical Analysis of Quantitative Data. The link to the text is below;http://www.r2library.com.proxy.library.emory.edu/marc_frame.aspx?ResourceID=1447 | | 9/27 Cha | Critical Appraisals : Evaluating the quality of published quantitative research studies * How to read and interpret the findings from the articles * How to critique quantitative research | Melnyk, & Fineout-Overholt, Chapter 4, 5 | Literature Search Strategy Due 9/30/11 by 5:00 pm | 10/04/11 Jenny Foster | Qualitative Research Designs * Reading qualitative research papers * How to critique qualitative research | TBA | CITI certificate Due 10/07/11 at 5:00 pm | 10/11/11 | FALL BREAK | 10/18/11 Vena | Theory and scientific Inquiry | Carper, B. A. (1978). Fundamental patterns of knowing in nursing. Advances in Nursing Science 1(1), 216-22.Schallom L, Thimmesch AR, Pierce JD. (2011). Systems biology in critical-care nursing. Dimensions in Critical Care Nursing 30(1), 1-7.Wilson J, Gramling L. (2009). The application of Orem's Self-Care Model to burn care. Journal of Burn Care Research, 30(5), 852-8Wenzel J, Shaha M, Klimmek R, Krumm S. (2011). Working through grief and loss: oncology nurses' perspectives on professional bereavement. Oncology Nursing Forum, 38(4), E272-82 | Individual Critique due 10/21/11 at 5:00 pm |

Date and Faculty | Topics and Class Activities | Reading | Group Project/Assignments | 10/25/11 Susan Shapiro | Implementing EBP in practice settings * Clinical research studies * Practice guidelines * Implementation strategies for practice settings | Shapiro, S. & Donaldson, N. (2008). Evidence-based practice for advanced practice emergency nurses, Part III: Planning, implementing, and evaluating an evidence-based small test of change. Advanced Emergency Nursing Journal, 30(3), 222 – 232Rycroft-Malone, J., Kitson, A., Harvey, G., et al. Ingredients for change: revisiting a conceptual framework. Quality and Safety in Health Care, 11, 174-180Recommended:Nieva, V., Murphy, R., Ridley, N., et al. From science to service: a framework for the transfer of patient safety research to practice. Advances in Patient Safety, 2, 441-453. http://www.ahrq.gov/downloads/pub/advances/vol2/Nieva.pdf | Literature Grid and Evidence Synthesis Due 11/04/11 by 5:00 pm | 11/1/11 Vena, Cha | Ethics and Research-Research misconduct-Ethical issues in Animal research-Human subject research | TBA | | 11/8/11 | NO CLASS – Students attend distinguished lecture celebrating LLCIN 10 anniversary on 11/09/11 from 7 – 8:30 pm | | Interaction papers due 11/11/11 by 5:00 pm | 11/15/11 Vena | Evaluation of evidence in everyday practiceHow to conduct a journal club | Steele-Moses, S. K. (2009). Developing a journal club at your institution. Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing, 13(1), 109-112St. Pierre, J. (2005). Changing nursing practice through a nursing journal club. MEDSURG Nursing, 14(6), 390-392. | | 11/22/11 Cha | Dissemination of research/EBP * Venues * Effective presentations (oral and posters) * Submitting for publication | TBA | | 11/28/11 | NO CLASS | Group Work; Faculty consultation as desired | | 12/06/11 | Group Presentations | | Presentations Due | 12/13/11 | TBA | | |