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Patricia A. Grady, RN, PhD, FAAN, has been director of the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, since 1995. Under her leadership, the NINR has more than doubled its budget and significantly increased the number of research and training grants awarded. Throughout her tenure as director, Grady has supported the development of opportunities for new nurse researchers through programs such as the Summer Genetics Institute.

Q: What is a grant, and how do nurses find out how to write one?

A grant is a funding award that is given to a researcher to complete a specific study. If you have an idea for a study, you can write it up and apply for a grant. Different grant opportunities will have different requirements, but generally, you will be asked to describe the specific problem or question you want to study, how you plan to go about it, and what expertise you have to enable you to pursue this type of research. You also need to include the type of patient population you are studying, your study endpoints, and how you will know if an intervention has worked or not. You will also need to attach a budget to your grant application.

Q: Is there an easy way to get started?

The NINR website at www.ninr.nih.gov is a good place to start. We offer a lot of helpful information about how to access grants and get started in research, including a free user-friendly online course. Titled "Developing Nurse Scientists," the course provides general research training for nurse scientists who are in the early stages of their career development. Through the completion of four self-paced modules, nurses can learn practical skills and strategies necessary for preparation as a principal investigator and the development of a successful program of research. The course is available at www.ninr.nih.gov/ Training/OnlineDevelopingNurseScientists and can be used to earn continuing education credits.

Q: How can nurses without experience or an advanced degree get started in research?

When pursuing research, the more background and education you have the better, but an advanced degree is not always required to get started. Some grants have very specific educational and experience requirements and some don't.

An excellent way to get your feet wet is by participating in research projects within your own department, such as with surveys about equipment, forms, or interventions and quality improvement projects. Find a mentor who is already leading these types of projects and offer to help him or her to collect data. You can learn a great deal from a mentor and discover if research really is for you. There's nothing like hands-on experience, and I find that nurses get excited about research once they get involved in it and see what it's like up close and personal.

Q: After getting their feet wet in an in-house research project, where can nurses go from there?

To develop your own research projects, you can investigate the funding resources available through your own facility. A wealth of research and grant opportunities are also available through the NINR website, including the Extramural Research Program, which supports the work of scientists in universities, teaching hospitals, and other organizations outside NINR. The NINR also offers both individual and institutional training opportunities.

There are also a number of foundations that support nursing research, particularly for nurses who have an interest in a specific clinical area, such as cancer, arthritis, or diabetes. To learn more about available grants, visit the websites of foundations that focus on your areas of interest.

As a nurse researcher, you never run out of ideas to investigate and areas to explore, but persistence is important. Most of the nurses who really want to become nurse scientists are ultimately successful.

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Catherine Spader, RN, is a freelance writer.