Three Ps for Increasing EBP Among Staff Nurses: Presence, Persistence, & Patience
Jennifer Lemke, CRRN, Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, University Hospital, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, USA
Since creation of the Nursing Research Council (NRC) ten years ago, staff-nurse members of the NRC have become more knowledgeable about research and believers in the importance of evidence as a basis for practice. Beyond the “safe-zone” of the NRC, however, staff nurse attitudes toward evidence-based practice (EBP) vary from total lack of awareness to some level of interest to open resistance. Ongoing presence as a fellow staff nurse means ongoing opportunity to bring evidence to bear on an immediate clinical issue, but that also means having the confidence and competence to do so. Persistent requests to add levels of evidence to clinical policies eventually will draw attention, but what if no evidence exists for the policy others have chosen for you to show them the value of EBP? Patience makes persistence easier to sustain and brings the added benefit of celebrating incremental changes, but how does the concept of patience fit into an environment where administration has embraced short cycle change? This session describes the challenges and successes experienced by being present, persistent and patient with fellow staff nurses in the attempt to increase belief in and use of EBP.