Question

As part of my nursing class, this week's "Question of the Week" and my answer is below. The class is over next week! And, I'll be 3 more credits closer to my next degree. I then start the next nursing class the following week. Keep plugging away....

Question:
List 2 topics that you personally would like to research. This can be a clinical topic, management issue, or any topic in nursing that you feel the need for additional research to be completed. Give the reasons why you feel strongly about the subjects and who you might link with in order to complete the research.

My Answer:
The first topic that would be of interest to me to research more is "Intimate Partner Violence During Pregnancy." I believe obstetric nurses neglect this topic during ante & intra - partum care. We ask the standard "Do you feel safe at home" question but rarely is this answered affirmatively. And, current research shows that intimate partner violence during pregnancy reaches 20% - That is a higher percentage than both pre-ecclampsia & gestational diabetes - Both of which maternity nurses obtain much training and knowledge with which to address these problems. But, we do not receive specific training about how to more effectively screen for and intervene in cases of intimate partner violence. I think we tend to "give our practice away" by simply referring the abused or suspected abused woman to social services, then washing our hands of the situation. While I think social services is an excellent resource and a good place for me (or us as nurses) to start to look into this topic more, it should not be our only resource.

Secondly, I would like to do some more research on the topic of "The Autonomy of Midwives." Currently midwives are frequently denied practicing privileges in many area hospitals - the decision to allow midwives to practice is often put to a vote by THE DOCTORS! The doctors, who are in direct competition for the patients midwives would potential serve, have the final say in whether midwives are allowed to practice in a hospital. I would like to explore this topic more. While I understand midwives must work in collaboration with physicians, I believe there should be a certain degree of autonomy as advanced practice nurses, which is not there currently. A good place for me to start would be to talk to the local midwives and see how they have addressed this issue. And, I could contact ACNM as they have a special division just for such topics about restriction of practice.