Maintaining a Full House for Research Involvement Among Float Pool Nurses

Abstract

•Identify strategies to engage staff nurses in a shared governance scholarly inquiry council.•Discuss resources that support evidence-based practice (EBP) efforts among float pool nurses. Involvement in a shared governance council was an identified need among nurses in the float pool. Clinical practice issues were raised, but due to the lack of unit “walls,” staff questioned the ability of the float team to engage in council work, scholarly inquiry, and the EBP process. Among nurses in the float pool does active membership in the Shared Governance Professional Inquiry Council versus no involvement lead to promotion of scholarly inquiry initiatives/engagement in the EBP process? Search terms: Magnet, resource, council, float pool, nurse(s), organization, shared governance, evidence-based, management, decision making, evidence-based practice. CINAHL, Medline, PubMed Studies reported that involvement in shared governance increases professionalism, staff retention, and evidence-based nursing practice. Being involved in a council promotes accountability and professional development. The Stetler Model of EBP. Research findings support staff involvement in shared governance and EBP. Clinical expertise reveals those critical to involvement in the EBP process is management support, staff protected time, and regularly scheduled meetings. Integrating research findings and clinical expertise resulted in a council with 15 active members engaged in evidence evaluation. Scholarly inquiry activities include “research quiz of the month” and development of a policy for use of cooling blankets with febrile children. Council efforts and management support have led to float pool nursing staff leading and facilitating scholarly inquiry. Evidence work addressing clinical issues have implications for practice changes that impact patient, family, and staff outcomes.