The 21st Century Nurse is Both an Expert in Caregiving and Research
June 02, 2024 – Recently, Rambam Health Care Campus (Rambam) in Haifa, Israel, held a research day focused on nursing innovation during International Nurses Week, covering topics that interweave research with caregiving.
Hundreds of nurses, hospital management, and the head of Cheryl Spencer Department of Nursing at University of Haifa, attended the symposium, which highlighted advancements in the field of nursing and the integration of nursing with research. The symposium focused on the intertwining of bedside care with academic research, efforts to reduce attrition in the profession, and the pursuit of professionalism in the midst of a wartime situation.
The symposium opened with expressions of gratitude and appreciation to the nursing teams for their dedication through the months of war. Following, nurses presented research addressing needs identified by their patients’ bedsides. Examples included a clinical expert discussing his role in determining treatments for impotence and a study on recovery from burnout between shifts, among others.
In the second session, studies from the research-academic sphere were presented, demonstrating their practical applications for nursing tasks. Topics included the role of physical activity in supporting nurses during shifts, factors affecting family members’ uncertainty for patients post-bone marrow transplant, and the relationship between the birth experience and postpartum depression severity in mothers after a spontaneous first birth, among others.
Gila Hyams, director of Nursing at Rambam, summed up the event by saying, “Our participation in research is remarkable. It represents a shift in conventional thinking driven by academic nurses, all focused on benefiting our patients and upholding care excellence. The extensive research we are conducting today significantly advances the hospital and is essential for the future of nursing.”
In the photo Gila Hyams (left) and Einat Perez, head nurse at the Internal Medicine Division at Rambam (right)
Photography: Rambam HCC