Promoting research competence: introduction of the nursing research immersion program in Singapore General Hospital

Individual, organisational and environmental factors play an significant role in developing and promoting research utilisation among nurses. Building a strong research foundation is important for the future of nursing profession. Research utilisation among newly graduated registered nurses has been reportedly to be low in previous population-based longitudinal studies. Historically, nurses find it difficult to understand the value of a nursing research in the course of their clinical practice therefore a more creative and interactive strategies (experiential learning) are needed to make research relevant to clinical practice. This article describes the efforts of a large teaching hospital in Singapore in promoting and building research competence among nurses in the clinical care setting. An immersion program similar to a research internship offers an in-depth and experiential learning experience. It allows students to learn a new knowledge and skills by being completely immersed and engaged in the prescribed activity. The goal of the immersion program is to develop research skills through active participation in the research process and to develop novice nurses’ ability to implement and evaluate evidence-based project that aimed to improve treatment outcomes of patients. An immersion program such as the one described in this article provides a strategy to promote a culture of evidence-based practice. The experiential knowledge gained through this type of program may advance the nursing profession.