New Mechanisms for Linking Research and Policy

Impact 2.0: New mechanisms for linking research and policy supported a series of small research projects examining the use of online social networking services to link research and policy in Latin America.

Two types of projects were supported: (i) action research projects involved both implementing and evaluating a specific use of one or more online social networking services to link research and policy or researchers and policymakers, and (ii) more conventional ones evaluated existing initiatives implemented by third parties. A five-member jury evaluated the submissions and its members provided advice and support to the researchers at various moments during the project, but no specific framework or theoretical approach was imposed. Proposals were accepted from a variety of disciplinary perspectives as long as they addressed, through a formal research process, the impact of web 2.0 and online social networking services on the links between research and public policy, with an overall objective of documenting the design, implementation and impact of actions undertaken to link of knowledge generation and policy definition.

  Click here to access the full research report on new mechanisims for linking research and policy

Social Media Partners

Thank you to Terri Schmitt for the kind words she shared about the commitment to social media shared by RWJF and INQRI in her recent interview on Nursing-School-Degrees.com.

Terri encourages her students to use social media to network with others and collaborate about ideas. You can follow her efforts on her blog, "Nurse Story" and you can catch her at the upcoming Sigma Theta Tau International Convention where she will present as part of a panel on use of social media in nursing education.

Not Sure if Social Media is Right for You?

With the influx of social media outlets (i.e. Twitter, Facebook, blogs like this one), nurses and researchers may be unsure which of these (if any) are appropriate to advance their work.

A new book, authored by Robert Fraser, B.S.N., R.N., teaches nurses how to use social media to access and share information, collaborate with one another and participate globally with other nurses. Published this spring by Sigma Theta Tau International (STTI), the honor society of nursing, The Nurse’s Social Media Advantage: How Making Connections and Sharing Ideas Can Enhance Your Nursing Practice covers social media from soup to nuts. You will read Fraser's tips regarding legal issues and online privacy as well as his suggestions relating to the development of content and managing social networks.

Click here to learn more.

Unique Uses of Technological Advances

Technological advances offer much opportunity to enhance patient care in new and very dynamic ways.  For example, ICU patients at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center in Worcester have recently benefited by the center's trial use of a new tele-ICU system.  This system allows off-site doctors and nurses to remotely monitor their patients and direct on-site staff.  During the trial, the ICU experienced fewer patient deaths and patients experienced shorter ICU stays.  Using tele-ICU, intensive care specialists can not only access medical records remotely, but they can also see and hear patients while monitoring vital signs.

Another example resides in Barbara McLean's use of social media to improve bedside nursing.  McLean, MN, RN, CCRN, CCNS, CRNP, FCCM, uses Facebook, Twitter, podcasts and her own interactive website to educate nurses all over the world. 

“I saw, early in my career, that hospitals didn’t always have the experts they needed in house to take practice to a higher level,” McLean said. “I was fortunate to have a gift for public speaking and to possess the ability to put complex issues in a form that people can understand.”

In addition, she uses her online network to support philanthropic activities, mission trips to Haiti and Africa and much more.

Click here to learn more about tele-ICU.
Click here to learn more about Barbara McLean.

RWJF Launches New Human Capital Blog

Check out the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's new Human Capital Blog. The Foundation has started this blog "to serve as a forum for sharing information and stimulating discussion about the challenges of building a health care workforce that meets the nation’s current and emerging health care needs." By following this blog, you will be able to keep up with the exciting research and programs funded under the Foundation's human capital portfolio.

A recent post announces the selection of INQRI program director, Mary Naylor, R.N., Ph.D., F.A.A.N., for the 2011 recipient of the GE Healthcare-AACN Pioneering Spirit Award, given by the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN).

Five Ways Social Media Can Help Nurses

In a recent article posted on the Nursing Link website, Crystal Akins discusses how social media can have a positive impact on nurses’ lives, both professionally and personally. The INQRI program has embraced social media over the past year, utilizing twitter and updating our blog daily in an effort to reach a broader audience. The use of social media has allowed the INQRI program, other nursing organizations and individuals to share information, forge relationships and stay up to date on all things nursing.

Click here to read article.

Click here to access some of INQRI's recent blogposts.

The blog will not be updated on Monday as we will be observing the Martin Luther King Jr., day of service. Check back on Tuesday for more updates on nursing around the country.