A Collaborative Approach to Educating Evidence-Based Practice Among BSN Students and Rural Hospital Nurses

Description of Teaching Strategy or Project: The Chief of Nursing Officer (CNO) of a small rural hospital expressed a need for the nursing staff to gain proficiency in Evidence Based Practice (EBP). Through networking within a nursing research consortium, a partnership was established with the University of Southern Indiana’s nursing program. The teaching strategy used was a student-driven interactive learning model. The goal was to increase the BSN students’ confidence in teaching and for the RNs to increase their knowledge of EBP in order to implement EBP into their practice.

Implementation of Strategy or Project: Nursing students met with the CNO and devised a timeline to introduce EBP to the nursing staff during the unit staff meetings. Students attended five unit staff meetings offered at two different times, to accommodate varying shifts. Each educational session built on the previous one and provided a topical review. Nursing students created educational handouts and provided tools to aid in interactive learning. The topics included EBP definitions, the process of EBP, finding scholarly resources in the hospital database, and how to appraise evidence. Interactive strategies included guided PICOT question formation, facilitated database searches, and demonstrations of article appraisal.

Outcomes: This active learning model revealed themes of increased confidence in both parties and established a relationship between a university and a rural hospital. Each teaching session augmented the understanding of EBP. Some units implemented EBP into their practice and have utilized the appraisal tools presented at the educational sessions for unit projects.

Implications for Education/Educators: The interactive learning strategy created an opportunity for students to develop and deliver an educational in-service at a critical access hospital and increase their own confidence with EBP. A collaborative partnership with neighboring nursing programs provides an innovative solution for rural hospitals who may not have robust educational resources for staff. This project includes a formal research agenda to collect quantitative outcomes.