Building Nurses’ Capacity in Community Health Services
Abstract
This paper describes core processes, components, and insights gained from a research internship
offered through the University of Ottawa, Canada. The growing demand for high quality
nursing research requires the development and implementation of strategies for enhanced research
capacity. A three-month intensive internship was developed as a main feature of a nursing
chair held by the first author. The internship was deliberately structured around core processes
of providing individual and group mentoring, creating opportunities for experiential education,
and strengthening networks with researchers and decision-makers in health services and policy
research. Building and sustaining individual research capacity was supported with strategies to
address system challenges. If nurses are going to make their voices heard and increase their contributions
to novel health service delivery approaches, building research capacity will be a core
element. The internship may be a useful prototype for the development of initiatives to build
research capacity in other settings.
Description
item.page.type
Journal Article (peer-reviewed)
item.page.format
Text
Keywords
RESEARCH CAPACITY, COMMUNITY HEALTH, EXPERIENTIAL EDUCATION, MENTORSHIP, NETWORKING, NURSING, HEALTH RESEARCH, HEALTH EDUCATION
Citation
Edwards, N., & MacDonald, J.-A. (2009). Building Nurses’ Capacity in Community Health Services. International Journal of Nursing Education Scholarship, 6 (1).