What does studying research methods have to do with practice? Views of student midwives and nurses

Abstract

At the point of registration, the Nursing and Midwifery Council ( NMC, 2015 ) requires nurses and midwives to prioritise people, practise effectively, preserve safety and promote professionalism and trust. Registrants must ‘always practise in line with the best available evidence’ ( NMC, 2015: 7 ), both in terms of their skills and competencies and the evidence on which their practice is based. A key aspect of a university lecturer's role in teaching on pre-registration nursing and midwifery programmes is to ensure students appreciate the link between research and practice. Student midwives and nurses must develop an understanding that gold-standard care is based on best evidence and realise that by studying research methods during their programme of study they are actually developing higher-order skills of critical thinking and decision making. Such skills are highly transferable for safe and effective clinical practice, commensurate with graduate-level programmes of study.