Connecting Nurses with Evidence in the Context of Clinical Practice

Evidence-based practice (EBP) is best understood as a process—an approach to decision making.  Connecting nurses with evidence is a dynamic and rapidly changing process. Across the international landscape, nurses struggle with the basic skill of finding and retrieving evidence through conventional sources (printed literature) and the evolving electronic environment of search engines. Further, little is known about whether the professional discipline of searching for evidence has been widely accepted as a component of the nurse’s responsibilities.

The purpose of this paper is to speak to the knowledge and skills needed to find and retrieve evidence. Failure to discern an appropriate search engine combined with a lack of essential skills to navigate the electronic information environment can paralyze best intentions to locate and retrieve evidence in clinical practice. In this study, nurses’ self-rated assessments illuminate the fact that, despite formal academic training and continuing staff development, many nurses lack the knowledge and skills to utilize the full power of search engines and databases. Data for this study were provided by a diverse group of volunteer nurses from diverse practice settings and locations. Study findings have led us to develop innovative strategies that appeal to the diverse learning needs of nurses in clinical practice.

At the completion of this session, the participant will be able to 1) describe factors identified in the study findings that influence locating and retrieving evidence in everyday practice, and 2) identify age-sensitive and education-sensitive strategies to meet learning needs of nurses in clinical practice.