Nursing

Expert spotlight: Roll out evidence-based practice with resources

Nurse Leader Weekly, January 5, 2009

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This week, Suzanne C. Beyea, RN, PhD, FAAN, director of nursing research at the Dartmouth Centers for Health and Aging in Lebanon, NH explains the importance of having adequate resources when involving staff in evidence-based practice (EBP).

Q: Do have any advice to help nurse managers engage staff in EBP?

A: Creating a culture where EBP can flourish requires resources such as subscriptions to electronic journals and databases, access to computers and the Internet, and release time for staff nurses to work on projects and to serve on EBP councils. There is no such thing as research on a shoestring budget, and although the hard work of dedicated professionals can bring high-quality results, it does take time and resources.

Some first steps to developing an EBP culture can be assessing the accessibility of computers and electronic resources and developing a plan so those resources are available to staff nurses.

Consider providing nurses with education about the importance of EBP and how it fits into their daily work. This education includes helping nurses learn how to search the literature, access resources, and critique published articles, develop and implement a research protocol, and disseminate the results of a research or EBP project.

Encourage nurses to attend seminars or conferences that include research reports to help them learn more about EBP. Some organizations also offer continuing education programs on EBP or collaborate with local nursing schools to offer on-site research courses for academic credit.

Editor's note: Do you have a question for our experts? Email your queries to editor Keri Mucci at kmucci@hcpro.com and see your name in print next week! In the meantime, head over to our Web site and view a growing collection of advice from our experts.



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