REHABILITATION RESEARCH: CALL TO ACTION The Rehabilitation and Research Masterclass Program – Nursing (RAMP-N)
Published 18th October 2021
Burridge L, New A, Lewis D, Kohlhardt J, Tattam T.
What’s the issue?
Internationally, practising nurses are less research-active than other disciplines, due partly to lack of knowledge and the scarcity of non-clinical time1. This diminishes the contribution of ground-up nursing research to evidence-based practice, and highlights an underlying lack of research capacity. Strategies are needed to develop nurses’ research skills, confidence and continuity2, to enable practice-aligned research3 and to integrate the generation and use of knowledge4. There is a gap between motivation for nursing research and nurse-led research.
Why is it important?
Recent literature has helped to define and clarify the role of rehabilitation nurses, in terms of what is unique in their day-to-day practice5,6. Sound research is part of professional practice as it underpins improvements to nursing practice and quality in patient care7. Increasing capacity
What are we doing?
Background of the program
The Rehabilitation and Research Masterclass Program – Nursing (RAMP-N) was developed within Metro South Health, to build the research capacity of nurses practising in rehabilitation settings. With the endorsement of nursing executive, the program was initiated by four senior rehabilitation nursing specialists and supported by a research academic from The Hopkins Centre. The aim was to enable nursing research on clinically relevant topics. The long-term goal was to enhance professional practice and patient outcomes. The inaugural program in 2018 comprised 2 sequential 6-hour workshops. In response to participant feedback, this increased to 3 workshops in 2019, the final of which comprised 4 hours of contact time. The program was cancelled during 2020 due to the clinical impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. There are tentative plans to resume the program in 2021.
