This year, three nursing research studies are underway, obtaining approval for two new studies and completing another. Presented here is a summary of these studies and their status.

Direct-Care Registered Nurses’ Experiences and Perceptions of Nursing Peer Review

Principal Investigator: Megan Lopez, MSN, CNL, VA-BC™

Co-Investigator: Kirsten Wisner, PhD, RNC-OB CNS, C-EFM, NE-BC

Study Duration and Status: March 2019 to December 2022, Closed

This mixed-methods study used The Peer Review Survey to measure nurses’ perceptions of nursing peer review before and after the implementation of Salinas Valley Health’s “brain-friendly” peer feedback program. Two open-ended questions were analyzed using thematic analysis to explore nurses’ perspectives of barriers and facilitators to the use of peer review. Nearly half of the 28 questions showed a statistically significant improvement after program implementation. Findings from thematic analysis revealed the social and personal complexity of speaking up and suggest that effective peer review and peer feedback programs require ongoing support and education, leader role-modeling and strategies to address unit and organizational culture.

Healthcare Providers’ Perspectives and Practices Regarding Bereavement Support

Principal Investigators: Alyssa Erikson, PhD, RN; Jennifer McAdam, PhD, RN; Jeneva Gularte-Rinaldo, PhD, RN; and Steven Kim, PhD

Salinas Valley Health Site Investigators: Celina Medina, MSN, RN, and Laurie Freed, BSN, RN, CCRN-CSC

Status: Study Initiated in June 2022; Currently in Analysis

This mixed-methods study was a collaboration between researchers at California State University, Monterey Bay; Samuel Merritt University; and Salinas Valley Health. Researchers used a researcher-developed survey and interviews to explore how healthcare professionals (e.g., registered nurses, physicians, social workers, chaplains, respiratory therapists) in the Intensive Care Unit, Step-Down Unit and Emergency Department view and provide bereavement support. Having a better understanding of bereavement support and who provides this type of support may help healthcare professionals improve and extend the care they provide for grieving families.

Effect of Accountability Grid Implementation on Nurses’ Perceptions of Professional Governance

Principal Investigator: Kirsten Wisner, PhD, RNC-OB, CNS, C-EFM, NE-BC

Co-Investigator: Aubree Collins, BSN, RNC-OB, C-EFM

Status: Approved in December 2022; Data Collection to Begin in 2023

The purpose of this study is to assess the impact of the implementation of clinical nurse and nurse leader accountability grids on nurses’ perceptions of professional governance. The study hypothesis is that implementing accountability grids will provide a framework for decisional authority, providing structural and operational support to the professional governance structure that will increase Verran Professional Governance Scale© (VPGS) scores over time. The VPGS is a new instrument developed to measure professional governance. A secondary aim of the study is to evaluate the test-retest reliability of the VPGS.