Becoming a Registered Nurse

The Future Face of Nursing Profiles

Nursing Research – Asking Our Questions, Finding Our Answers

Clinicians need researchers to address their clinical questions, and researchers need clinicians to ensure relevancy and significance of our research.

Dr. Michelle Lobchuk, RN, BN, MN, PhD

The importance of cancer research to cancer nursing is immense. “Clinicians need to understand not only the profound impact of the physical effects of a potentially life challenging disease, but also the associated psychosocial ramifications. Cancer patients and their families need help dealing with these issues, to optimize treatment decision-making, life adjustments, and relational coping in the family and community,” says Dr. Michelle M. Lobchuk, RN.

On the occasion of cancer awareness month, CNA highlights the importance of nursing research, specifically cancer research. Of the many nurse researchers across Canada, the University of Manitoba is home to an accomplished group of cancer researchers, including Dr. Roberta L. Woodgate, associate professor at the Faculty of Nursing, Dr. Michelle M. Lobchuk, assistant professor at the Faculty of Nursing, and Krista Wilkins, a full-time doctoral student. Each is dedicated to conducting research on the often overlooked but profound issues that impact patients and families, giving clinicians insight on how to provide better care.

Why go into research after caring for cancer patients on the front line? Woodgate, a self-titled “kids nurse,” says, “I wanted my work to improve the quality of care and life for children and their families.” She achieves this goal by working to develop a larger body of research that she says is focused on “providing nurses and other health care providers working in pediatric oncology with the opportunity to better understand children’s perspectives of the world in which health and illness care is provided. This will result in more meaningful psychosocial and physical interventions for ill children.”

But for some researchers their experience is also first-hand. “As a cancer survivor, I have a personal interest in cancer research,” says Wilkins. “I wanted to somehow give back to others for what I was given – a second lease on life after being diagnosed with cancer, not once but twice! I have decided to give back to others through research because research can affect so many people – cancer patients of today and tomorrow as well as their families.”

As experienced clinicians, registered nurses offer the world of research significant information on cancer and other diseases. “Registered nurses play a key role in research” says Michelle Lobchuk. “In fact, the triggers in their work places that cause them to question clinical practice, lead to clinical questions that are amenable for research that in turn can inform best practice.”

The importance of nursing research is evident when its value is translated into the health system. “Nursing research contributes knowledge that can work to reduce the health care burden for patients as well as the health care delivery system, especially when there is an emphasis on health and wellness,” remarks Wilkins.

Achieving these small discoveries cannot be done alone. It takes the work of dedicated people who develop teams and mentors to aid them in their search for answers. “I have learned that one cannot go about doing research alone,” says Lobchuk. “It takes a willingness to make your research needs known, and then the team can often help identify how research needs can be met, the right people to meet, and the projects to get involved with locally, nationally, or internationally.”

Nurse researchers look to their team and mentors for support, whether in their own or different disciplines. “Research is very complex and health problems are complex requiring many different types of expertise,” says Roberta Woodgate. “In planning my research studies I use a team approach that is interdisciplinary in nature. Over the years I have had many individuals mentor me, including nursing colleagues in clinical and academic settings, as well as experts from other disciplines. But my most important mentors have been the children and the families I have come in contact with over my career. I have learned so much from them and value what they have shared with me. I truly feel privileged.”

“I am fortunate to have Dr. Roberta Woodgate as a mentor,” Wilkins adds. “She has helped develop my self-awareness, challenged me to grow beyond my perceived limitations, provided honest and constructive feedback and above all, she is easy to communicate with.”

As nursing researchers, Woodgate, Lobchuk and Wilkins provide a different type of care to cancer patients. According to Woodgate, “as nurses we should always be asking questions and seeking solutions to our questions. Research is one way to ask questions.” Lobchuk goes further: “Nurses are our clinical scholars. We have to work at getting this message to them earlier in their professional life. They too hypothesize at the bedside. They think about what works and what doesn’t, as they seek to enhance patient outcomes.”

The Researchers:

Dr. Roberta L. Woodgate RN, BN, MN, PhD is the associate professor in the Faculty of Nursing at the University of Manitoba. She is responsible for research, education, and professional/community service.

Through an award from the Canadian Cancer Society (CCS)/ National Cancer Institute of Canada (NCIC) Research Scientist Award (2004-2010) she is able to spend the majority of her time conducting research. Woodgate was the 2004 recipient of the Dorothy J. Lamont Scientist Award, a joint NCIC and Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR) award for the highest-ranking scientist in the “Behavioural, Psychosocial, and Cancer Control” Research Scientist Category. In addition to Woodgate’s research responsibilities, she is on numerous committees at the university, national, and international level. Woodgate teaches the Qualitative Research course to graduate nursing students in the Master of Nursing Program. In addition to teaching, Woodgate mentors graduate students in their MN and PhD work. She also holds a cross appointment in the Faculty of Medicine for the Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, University of Manitoba. She is also a research scientist for the Manitoba Institute of Child Health (MICH) and contributes to the profession of nursing by providing expert research advice to pediatric nurses.

A large part of Woodgate’s research focus on the psychosocial aspects of childhood cancer across the continuum of cancer prevention, cancer care and/or palliative care with emphasis on capturing the voices of children and their families (parents and siblings) through innovative research strategies. Woodgate is presently principal investigator on three CIHR-funded studies, including a study that revisits how children’s cancer symptoms are assessed and managed. She has an impressive record of over 40 peer-reviewed publications and over 80 conference and scholarly presentations. The Association of Pediatric Oncology Nurses (APON) acknowledged her contribution to pediatric oncology nursing research by awarding me the Dianne Fochtman New Author Award (1997) and the Annual Writing Award (2003). In addition, Woodgate has received the Manitoba Health Research Council Establishment Grant Award, which affords her long-term support to achieve her research goals.

Dr. Michelle M. Lobchuk RN, BN, MN, PhD is assistant professor in the Faculty of Nursing at the University of Manitoba, and a research scientist with the Canadian Cancer Societythrough an award from the National Cancer Institute of Canada. Through the CCS/NCIC Research Scientist Award, much of her time is spent conducting research with informal caregivers. She is also a co-principal investigator and a co-investigator on related grants that are being lead by faculty members at the Faculty of Nursing, and the Faculty of Medicine. Lobchuk teaches an Evidence Based Nursing Practice course to graduate nursing students in the Nurse Practitioner Program and the Master of Nursing Program. In addition she continues to serve as a consultant on evidence-based practice at numerous agencies across Winnipeg. As a result of her teaching and expertise she is a frequent guest speaker on evidence-based practice topics and family caregiver issues at local and national levels.

Lobchuk, a self-described champion of the underdog, is currently doing research in two areas, lung cancer and family care-giving. She is determined to see that these areas receive more research attention and grant support. Lobchuk received the Manitoba Health Research Council Establishment Grant Award, which affords her long-term support to achieve her research goals. In 2006, Lobchuk also received the Outstanding New Investigator Award from the Canadian Association for Nursing Research (CANR).

Krista Wilkins, RN, MN, BScN, BSc (Hons), is a full-time doctoral student at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg. Dr. Roberta Woodgate is her supervisor for her PhD program. She is the first student in an innovative doctoral program in Cancer Control, jointly offered by the Faculty of Nursing and Department of Community Health Sciences at the University of Manitoba. The program is the first of its kind to offer training in conducting research as well as how to synthesize, translate, disseminate, and promote the uptake of research to directly enhance nursing practice in Cancer Control. Wilkins is a CIHR Strategic Training Fellow in Psychosocial Oncology.

From her Master's thesis study, Wilkins has published numerous papers detailing the experiences of siblings as their brothers and sisters go through the pediatric bone marrow transplant process. Her doctoral dissertation work will explore second cancer risks in childhood cancer survivors. Knowledge of the magnitude of cancer risk among childhood cancer survivors and the factors that influence second cancer risk incidence, as well as childhood cancer survivors' perceptions of second cancers risk, is urgently needed if we hope to prepare survivors and their health care providers. For future cancer patients, this research will provide information on the mechanisms underlying the development cancer, which could then impact the diagnosis and future treatment of cancer throughout the life cycle.