Preparing the RN to BSN Nurse for Evidence-Based Practice

One of the goals of the La Salle University RN to BSN Program is that nurses who have completed the program will be empowered to utilize research-based, theoretical, scientific, and clinical knowledge from nursing and other disciplines as a basis for nursing practice. To accomplish that goal, the RN to BSN curriculum includes two courses; Nursing 408, Nursing Research, and Nursing 410, Evidence Based Practice which are both delivered in an online format.  In the Nursing Research course, the nurses are introduced to the concept of a research approach in nursing and the necessity for theory-based and evidence-based practice. The course explores the process of problem identification, literature review, hypothesis formulation, research design, sampling, data collection, and analysis so that students will be able to critically evaluate published nursing research. The Evidence Based Practice nursing course focuses on the integration of evidence into clinical nursing practice. Here nurses are taught how to critically evaluate evidence for its validity and applicability to nursing practice. Sources of evidence include published nursing research, integrative reviews, practice guidelines, quality improvement data, and case studies.