Peer Review By Nursing Research Committees In Hospitals

With the increasing amount of nursing research conducted in clinical settings, the value of peer review by nursing research committees (NRCs) in hospitals has come under greater scrutiny. Research facilitation has been the prevailing paradigm of NRCs for several decades. Reports of activities by NRCs in the literature appear to indicate a shift in that paradigm. The presence of clinical nurses with expert knowledge and advanced academic degrees who are serving as intra- and interdisciplinary scientific reviewers are leading a shift in the paradigm of NRCs toward activities that strengthen nursing science and nurse scientists. Eight strategies to support NRCs as review bodies for scientific merit are recommended. ©1996, Sigma Theta Tau International