Integrating research into private practice through consultation.
Research has traditionally been an integral part of academic institutions. More recently, private practitioners have incorporated research into clinical practice. Such research has addressed such issues as providing better patient care, assessing the efficacy of new treatments and drugs, and answering other questions relevant to clinical practice. Since nurse practitioners have a unique role in the health care system, they can participate in research in a unique way. Both nurse practitioners and patients will benefit from research on the unique role of nurse practitioners in providing health care. These issues deserve complete exploration by nurse practitioners. Nurse practitioner based research can provide an important source of new health care information. A clinical nurse research expert can assist the nurse practitioner in developing appropriate research projects. Clinical nurse researchers provide assistance with designing a protocol, funding it, and following through the completion of the research.