Nurses at every level can reflect on their active engagement with clinical research. This article aims to support nurses to understand how they can facilitate and lead research. It provides practical advice to support the integration of research evidence into care delivery and increase the opportunities for patients to participate in clinical research. This is important because patients can benefit from nurses who are knowledgeable, confident and supported in applying research evidence. Furthermore, nurses can support and inform patient choice through increased confidence and competence in engaging with research and implementing research findings. Organisational culture and leadership are also important elements in fostering environments where evidence and research are promoted throughout the nursing workforce.

Nursing Standard. doi: 10.7748/ns.2022.e11738

Peer review

This article has been subject to external double-blind peer review and checked for plagiarism using automated software

@ClaireW_UK

Correspondence

naomi.hare@gstt.nhs.uk

Conflict of interest

Both authors are National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) 70@70 Senior Nurse and Midwife Research Leaders. The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NIHR

Hare N, Whitehouse CL (2022) Engaging with research: practical advice for nurses at every level. Nursing Standard. doi: 10.7748/ns.2022.e11738

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Tracey Gibbs, clinical nurse specialist (oncology) at Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, and Heather Rostron, senior research nurse and NIHR 70@70 senior nurse research leader at Leeds Children’s Hospital, for reviewing this article and providing constructive feedback before submission

Published online: 04 January 2022