Introduction

The vision/mandate of this the Nursing Research Club at Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital & Research Centre (SKMCH&RC) is to promote Evidence-Based Nursing Practice (EBNP) through inquisitive practice environment, facilitating research utilization, and producing scientific knowledge for effective nursing in general and advancing cancer nursing in particular. The initial intention was a quest for knowledge and professional growth for nurses working at SKMCH&RC.

The Nursing Research Club has been set up to provide an open forum for nurses to collaborate, appraise, and deliberate how research can be translated into practice. The Research Club can promote the enhancement the skills of nurses evaluating and translating research findings to education, clinical practice, and administration. In 2014, a team of nurse administrators and nurse educators decided to initiate a Research Committee at SKMCH&RC consisting of 4 members. The purpose of this activity was to provide a platform in the form of a Journal Club to nurse leaders and educators, where they can exchange and share research articles pertaining to nursing practice. A variety of papers such as innovations in nursing care, nurses’ roles in patient care etc. has been presented in the Journal Club since its inception.

The committee continued its activities in the form of monthly journal club meetings where senior nurse managers & instructors presented research studies related to nursing research and scope of nursing. This activity has helped them learn research processes and enhanced utilization of nursing research in general.

In August 2021, upon joining the Assistant Director of Nursing Education, a meeting was called again to reshape the committee and its activities. The team briefly discussed the purpose of Nursing Research Clubs. Some of the elements discussed were as follows:

• Formulating a core committee from the nurse administrators and educators
• Establishing a common goal/outcome of the Nursing Research Club
• Determining the structure, schedule, and TORs of committee
• Establishing guidelines for presenters
• Developing evaluation tools and feedback forms

Expected Outcomes of Nursing Research Club

• Promoting lifelong learning skills in nurse leaders
• Providing an interactive and social opportunity for peer-to-peer learning
• Utilize research findings in improving nursing clinical practice and education.
• Develop critical appraisal skills.
• Conduct research and disseminate research findings in scholarly forums nationally and globally.

The Nursing Research Club sessions are held on the last Friday of every month from 3 PM-4 PM. Nurse leaders -Director of Nursing, Assistant Directors- clinical and education, Clinical Nurse Managers, Infection Control Nurses, Nurse Lecturer Practitioners are part of the Nursing Research Club. Overall, 75% attendance of each member is obligatory. Active participation is considered for their performance appraisal and professional development.

To run the Nursing Research Club’s activities smoothly, a Nursing Research Committee has been formulated and this Committee is responsible for overseeing the Nursing Research Club activities. Committee meetings are held quarterly. The Nomenclature of Nursing Research Committee is.

Activities and Initiatives

a. Theme based presentations

The initial theme-based presentations were conducted between October 2021 and November 2022 and covered breast cancer, adulthood & childhood cancers during this period. A total of 12 research articles were presented in the year 2023 including but not limited to cancer survivorship, caregiver support, thyroid cancers, and cancer with chronic illness. The presentations of the research club are evaluated quarterly, and the best presenter is awarded with a certificate.

b. Project with Academics Without Borders Canada

One of the outcomes of the Nursing Research Club is to facilitate their members in improving their research skills. To achieve this; the Club collaborated with Professor Dr. Salima Meherali at University of Alberta and applied to Academics Without Borders Canada for a grant in May 2022. The grant was approved in 2022, and the project will start in December 2023. The main objective of this project is to develop the capacity of the nurse educators and nurse managers in Research. Online training modules are prepared on research methodology and writing research proposals for research grants. These training modules will be available online for the registered members of the institution. The module can be completed at an individual’s own pace over 12 weeks. After completing online modules, registered members will make groups/pairs and work on developing research proposals. The participants will get mentorship and guidance from the volunteers on their research proposals via zoom links or other internet modes till the completion of proposal writing.

c. Scientific Art of Writing a Good Research Proposal

To strengthen research writing skills, a one-day workshop on writing a research proposal was conducted in May 2023. Participants were given an overview of conceptualization of research, components of a research proposal and followed by hands on practice to develop a research proposal. A total of 29 participants attended this workshop. Participants appreciated the workshop and suggested implementing more such workshops in future.

d. Research initiatives

With the support and facilitation of Research Committee members, three research studies were conducted in 2022 and four are done in 2023.

If you would like to learn more about Research Clubs, or would like to set one up in your institute or network, we can support you in doing so. Please write to us with your ideas or questions at asia@tghn2.org