Mentoring undergraduate nursing students in research.

Abstract

doi: 10.5480/11-555.1As one way to equip students for current health care practice (Reising, 2003), an increasing number of nursing programs are engaging students in the research process early in the curriculum. This engagement can prepare students to competently conduct all components of the research process. However, not all students feel prepared to participate in the research process after graduation, even though they received research training early on and throughout their undergraduate programs (Ax & Kincade, 2001). According to Spatz (2008), students often experience frustration and perceive nursing research as boring or believe that the teaching strategies are ineffective. This lack of enthusiasm for the research process can follow students into their professional careers.One way to help undergraduates better appreciate and gain expertise in the research process is to engage them in student-faculty collaborative projects. While few BSN programs offer opportunities for collaborative research outside the traditional nursing curriculum, undergraduate student-faculty collaborative research is gaining support within the academic community. Organizations such as the Council on Undergraduate Research (www.cur.org/about_cur/) advocate for the inclusion of research experiences that foster student involvement across baccalaureate curricula. Nursing faculty need to follow the direction of our colleagues in other disciplines by designing strategies to engage nursing students in collaborative undergraduate research.There are multiple models for including students in planned curricular research projects with faculty (Mandleco & Schwartz, 2002; Ravert, Boyer, Harmon, & Scoffield, 2004; Wheeler, Hardie, Schell, & Plowfield, 2008). One approach is to develop a curriculum where undergraduates begin the research strand early in the program and have a variety of courses that integrate research content. Other programs develop a capstone model, where students collaborate with other students and faculty to review current evidence and design research strategies for improved practice. Programs also continue to utilize the traditional strategy of including a nursing research course that focuses on the steps of the research process within the upper division of course work.Historically, undergraduate nursing programs have emphasized the role of research consumer rather than the role of researcher (Cole, 1995). The literature lacks innovative examples of involving undergraduate nursing students in the entire research process outside the planned curriculum. This article addresses mentoring as a strategy that promotes and expands the role of undergraduate nursing students as collaborators in the production of original research.Mentoring is a strategy that may be used in different settings and venues to promote research quality and quantity (Byrne & Keefe, 2002). While faculty are often experienced in mentoring colleagues within the faculty roles of teaching, research or scientific inquiry, and community service, functioning as faculty mentors with students can be rewarding (Wheeler et al., 2008). Not only can the process increase confidence in the mentees' skills, it increases the mentor's expertise as well. One of the greatest rewards can come from inspiring students' realization that they are capable of appraising, conducting, and disseminating research (Wheeler et al.).our methodUndergraduate research has been an ongoing process at our private, comprehensive university located in the Midwest. Within the college of nursing, we began a program of study that uses undergraduate students as members of a collaborative research team. For the past 17 years, this research program has been conducted as independent study beyond the required BSN research course.Each year, two faculty members serve as project mentors and three to six undergraduate nursing students -sophomores, juniors, and seniors who are selected to participate - are the research team members (RTMs). …