Providing Hands-on Experiences in Health Care Research to Mentor New Research Scholars

AIM This article describes the benefits of integrating students into a National Institutes of Health-funded research project. BACKGROUND Research is important in all academic disciplines for increasing knowledge and determining the effectiveness of currently used interventions. Educating nursing students to read, evaluate, and use research in practice is essential for solving complex health care challenges and achieving better patient outcomes METHOD The students were involved at all levels of the research process: project development, site acquisition, recruitment of participants, data collection and analysis, and manuscript development. Interviews of the student researchers were conducted to understand the students' experience of participation in the research study. RESULTS Three themes were identified: creating new knowledge is worthwhile, research is interesting and meaningful, and research can shape practice. CONCLUSION Promoting knowledge and experience by involving students in research projects can create a bridge to the development of evidence-based practice.