Page 38 - Nursing Education in Malaysia

NursiNg EducatioN iN Malaysia

Research activities in the US advanced extensively during the 1970s and 1980s. The
major focus was on the conduct of clinical research to improve nursing practice. Several
research journals were initiated, numerous research conferences were held and in 1985
the National Centre for Nursing Research (NCNR) was created. NCNR was to support
the conduct of basic and clinical nursing research and dissemination of findings. Under
the direction of an expert (Ada Sue Hinshaw, PhD. RN), the NCNR in 1993, became
the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR). The change in title increased the
recognition of nursing in the US as a research discipline and expanded the funding for
nursing research.

In the ‘80s and ‘90s, outcomes research emerged as an important methodology for
documenting the effectiveness of healthcare services. The Agency for Health Care Policy
and Research (AHCPR) was established in 1989 to facilitate the conduct of outcomes
research.

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For the 21 century, the vision for nursing in the US is the development of a scientific
knowledge base that enables nurses to implement an evidence-based practice (EBP). NINR
is now seeking expanded funding for nursing research and is encouraging a variety of
methodologies: quantitative, qualitative, outcome research and intervention research – to
be used to generate essential knowledge for nursing practice (Burns & Grove, 2001).

Lessons to be learned from the US experience of nursing research are:

1. To ensure an effective research enterprise in nursing, the discipline must:

(a) Create a research culture;

(b) Provide quality educational programmes (baccalaureate, masters, doctoral and
postdoctoral)

(c) Develop a sound research infrastructure; and

(d) Obtain sufficient funding for essential research

2. On the basis that research is a process and is similar in some ways to other processes,
it is useful to include early in nursing education a strong background in problem
solving and nursing process. A comparison of the problem-solving process, nursing
process and research process will show similarities and differences in these processes
which would provide a basis for understanding the research process. The problem-
based learning (PBL) approach is one good example of a problem-solving process
that provides a lot of similarities to research process.

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