Nursing Now and nursing research

Teresa Blasco Hernández

Abstract

It is indisputable that the attention to the health needs of the population in the current society in which we all live, inexorably passes through the settlement and strengthening of the figure and role of the professional nurse within the Health System and in society, and this will not be possible without strengthening its work in the field of research.

The importance of research in the nursing discipline is supported by an increase in the last decade of research projects, scientific publications, the attainment of the doctoral degree, specialties in nursing, as well as the awarding of grants and scholarships. All this represents a considerable boost for the advancement of nursing research as well as the disciplinary and professional development of Nursing.

"This growth is a consequence of the desire, on the one hand, of standardization within the academic and scientific world, and on the other hand, of the need for consolidation as a science that generates its own knowledge and research, supporting clinical practice on the results of research" [1] (Hernández-Rodríguez JE, Cilleros-Pino L, Díaz-Hernández M).

It is true that in general nursing has a positive attitude towards research, considering it a necessary action and a function of professional activity. However, the work overload, the time and effort required for research, the lack of education in scientific methodology, the lack of English language skills required to publish in many high impact international nursing journals and the lack of financial incentives for research, among others, constitute evident obstacles.

Despite all these obstacles, nursing research is in an ideal position to contribute to and lead the transformative changes that are emerging in today's globalized societies, but to do so we need to improve knowledge, change the way we think and make visible what we do. The Nursing Now movement offers us a wonderful opportunity to develop this research function by stating the need to: "encourage nursing research by increasing funding and promoting research units in nursing care".

Research is a challenge for most professionals, but so is the incorporation of the knowledge that emerges from research into professional practice for our profession. Meeting this challenge will contribute to improving the health care we provide and to the development of our discipline. Let us never forget that if we do not transfer the available knowledge to clinical practice, the existing evidence is of no use to us.

We hope that the journal "Nursing Knowledge" together with other scientific productions in the field of nursing is contributing to make the importance of research for the advancement of our profession a reality.

[1] Hernández-Rodríguez JE, Cilleros-Pino L, Díaz-Hernández M. Desarrollo de la Investigación Enfermera. Ene.  [Internet]. 2018  [citado  2019  Nov  07];  12(1): 718.