Advanced practice nurses have an important role to play in interdisciplinary research collaboration by acting as case managers, who should coordinate different aspects of care (Engelke & Marshburn, 2006). As members of interdisciplinary teams, nurses also have a duty to be advocates for patients. It is also their responsibility to ensure that clinical research is conducted smoothly and that patients are informed of current medical research processes relative to the findings of interdisciplinary studies (Engelke & Marshburn, 2006).
These duties are assigned to nurses as primary caregivers because they have the ability to understand how a patient’s health care plan would improve within the wider context of environmental changes (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services & National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, 2011).
One evidence-based change that would require the collaborative efforts of nurses and other health stakeholders is infection control. Although nurses are trained and equipped to act appropriately in instances where there is an outbreak of diseases, the morphing nature of some infections and the epidemiology of some diseases may require other players to be involved in infection control processes (Amin et al., 2013). Particularly, two parties that would need to collaborate with nurses in this exercise include the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and nursing schools (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services & National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, 2011).
The role of the CDC would be to undertake professional research studies on infection control while nursing schools would provide the platform for relaying the findings to students, who would later join the practice. When all parties collaborate in the manner suggested here, the time spent controlling infections would be worth the investments made (Amin et al., 2013).
References
Amin, T.T., Al Noaim, K.I., Bu Saad, M.A., Al Malhm, T.A., Al Mulhim, A.A., & Al Awas, M.A. (2013). Standard precautions and infection control, medical students’ knowledge and behavior at a Saudi university: The need for change. Global Journal of Health Science, 5(4), 114-125.
Engelke, M.K., & Marshburn, D.M. (2006). Collaborative strategies to enhance research and evidence-based practice. The Journal of Nursing Administration, 36(3), 131-135.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services & National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. (2011). What is ethics in research & why is it important? Web.