Grady Discusses Future of Nursing Science at ONS
NINR director Dr. Patricia Grady recently spoke at the Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) 41st annual Congress. Her presentation, “Looking Toward the Future,” highlighted new directions in nursing research that could guide nursing science over the next decade.
The conference, held this year in San Antonio, brought together more than 3,000 nursing professionals to learn about the latest developments in oncology nursing. Grady began by discussing the role of nursing science in health research. She emphasized that nurse scientists can lead change through evidence-based practice and by fostering cross-disciplinary teams. Collaboration across teams—which include nurses as vital participants—is the way of the future, she noted.
Grady pointed out that as a group, nurses are determining best practices. “We used to say ‘research not published is research not done.’ But now, ‘it’s research translated into practice.’” She went on to discuss how NIH’s Clinical and Translational Science Awards Program addresses many of the factors needed to make translational research successful and the ways in which nurse scientists have been integral to the CTSA program—44 of the 64 CTSAs are affiliated with nursing schools.
Grady also gave examples of new directions in nursing research, including creating a blueprint for genomic nursing science, data science opportunities in nursing, the Precision Medicine Initiative Cohort Program and NINR’s development of a new 5-year strategic plan.
Grady also received the ONS Research Advocacy Award. She noted that ONS’s current research agenda coincides with NINR’s areas of scientific focus. She shared examples of NINR-supported cancer research including pursuing the underlying mechanisms of symptoms in association with cancer treatments and the impact a cancer patient’s quality of life has on the caregiver’s well-being.
In addition to Grady’s presentation, Dr. Wendy Henderson of NINR’s Division of Intramural Research spoke in a session on epigenetics and cancer and Dr. Martha Matocha led a roundtable discussion on NINR research funding opportunities. For more about the conference, visit http://congress.ons.org/.