The Research Mentor Model

Selection and Skills Development

Anita Thompson-Heisterman's Research Mentor project won an award at a national conference of her professional specialty organization!

The PNSO selects ‘Research Mentors' to become peer leaders in the Nursing Research Program.  Each year, the application process for becoming a new Research Mentor is quite competitive, and support by applicants' Nurse Managers and Administrators is required. While the program was originally designed to target bedside clinicians, increasing demand from advanced practice clinicians to develop outcomes-improvement projects inspired the program directors to also start creating "Research Mentor Pairs" of APNs and bedside nurses.

Of critical importance is the ability of Research Mentors to adapt research methods to methods appropriate to clinical settings. The Program Director guides the development of the Mentors' knowledge and skills, using a combination of formal educational sessions and individual coaching throughout each research project.

The Model In Action

Using traditional group facilitation skills, Research Mentors guide clinical nursing teams in identifying common and important patient care issues, and all subsequent research steps. Each Research Mentor starts by developing a clinical research protocol, navigating institutional review groups, and preparing their team of bedside researchers. Research Mentors then assist their unit-based research teams in data collection, analyzing the data, and preparing to report findings.

Research findings are shared with both internal and external professional audiences as appropriate; many have been accepted for presentation in professional nursing conferences or journals. All are shared in the PNSO's annual Evidence-Based Practice Symposium, at which UVA nurses consider the research findings' implications for changing our practice.