Nurses play a crucial role in patient care at Massachusetts General Hospital, often spending more time with patients than any other member of the care team.

The nurse comes to know the person and their responses to health experiences and are often the first to identify opportunities to enhancing care, improving work processes, promoting safety and fostering a comfortable healing environment for patients and families during their hospital stays.  

Nursing research at Mass General is conducted with the support and guidance of the Yvonne L. Munn Center for Nursing Research. Here are five things to know:

The Munn Center is named for Yvonne L. Munn, RN, MSN, a nurse leader at Mass General from 1984 to 1993 who was committed to advancing nursing research over the course of her career. It is one of four centers within the Institute for Patient Care, and part of the Division of Clinical Research of the Mass General Research Institute.

The Munn Center collaborates with nurses and other disciplines to promote inquiry and use knowledge to improve care outcomes.

The director of the Munn Center is Gaurdia Banister, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN. Dr. Banister’s is the current holder of the Connell–Jones Endowed Chair for Nursing Research.

Her research focuses on interprofessional education, transition to practice considerations for culturally diverse nursing students, and mentoring for career success and progression in nursing.

Nurse Scientists in the Munn Center support the nursing research community at Mass General by providing consultations around grant writing, formulating research questions/ideas, and developing abstracts and manuscripts for publication.

There are multiple publications in scholarly journals as well as international dissemination of research results by these nurse scholars.

The research agenda at the Yvonne L. Munn Center for Nursing Research includes inquiry into: Care of the Elderly, Workforce Environment, Symptom Management, Ethics and Complimentary Healing Modalities.

The Nurse Scientists in the Munn Center use multiple research methods to uncover the meaning of health and wellness, seek ways to manage patient responses to illness and understand the experience of living will chronic health problems.

Learn More About Nursing Research at Mass General:

• Mass General Nursing Innovation Enters a New Era
• Gaurdia Banister Honored with Endowed Chair
• Why We Need More Diversity in Nursing (Charged Podcast Interview with Dr. Banister)

About the Mass General Research Institute
Research at Massachusetts General Hospital is interwoven through more than 30 different departments, centers and institutes. Our research includes fundamental, lab-based science; clinical trials to test new drugs, devices and diagnostic tools; and community and population-based research to improve health outcomes across populations and eliminate disparities in care.
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