Budgeting Nursing Time to Support Unit-Based Clinical Inquiry

A well-known barrier to the use of research and the conduct of clinical inquiry in hospital and ambulatory care settings is time. ¹ , ²  More than 3 decades of research has shown that although most nurses recognize a need for research to drive practice, most report insufficient time to effectively integrate generation of evidence into patient care activities. ³  Limitations such as increased direct care responsibilities, variability in systemwide leadership support, and inaccessible resources for project completion contribute to insufficient time for unit-based clinical inquiry. ⁴ , ⁵  Although most nurses want to participate in clinical inquiry to improve the quality of patient care, many feel that managers do not value or prioritize clinical inquiry activities because time away from direct patient care responsibilities is not allocated. ¹ 

To meet these challenges, nursing leaders must consider how to budget for nursing time that is indirect, or not directly dedicated...