A Clinical Nurse Specialist EBP Mentor: Bringing Evidence-Based Practice to the Bedside

Paper

Thursday, 20 July 2006

This presentation is part of : EBP Competency and Culture: Developing Education and Resources in a Magnet Hospital

Sue Nickoley, MS, BSN, RN, Nursing, Rochester General Hospital, Rochester, NY, USA

Using evidence-based practice (EBP) as a basis for clinical decision making has been reported as a critical competency needed by all healthcare professionals to improve quality and safety in health care environments (Greiner & Knebel, 2003). Bringing EBP to the bedside nursing staff in acute care hospital settings remains a challenge due to multiple staff barriers. Some of these include varying levels of awareness, time pressures, and little or no formal education in developing evidence-based knowledge and competencies. Also, the hospital culture can present roadblocks to adopting an evidence- based practice problem solving approach as a standard of practice.

This presentation will discuss evidence on the use of the advanced practice nurse as EBP Mentor and champion. This is one strategy for building a hospital EBP culture and increasing nursing staff competencies. Development of the EBP Mentor role within an existing Clinical Nurse Specialist position will be described. A link between the EBP Mentor role and the concept of clinical scholarship will be made. Clinical exemplars that illustrate the multiple mentored experiential learning opportunities that were initiated will be presented:

Conducted EBP Rounds

Role modeled the process of conducting an evidence-based practice review for stroke rehabilitation clinical pathway development with an interdisciplinary team

Implemented a quality improvement initiative to building a hospital-wide pressure ulcer prevention program facilitating staff nurse participation in data collection and measurement processes and development of EBP/nursing research competencies

Developed a hospital wide evidence-based Magnet NICHE geriatric program of care with bedside nursing staff and an interdisciplinary team

Additional implementation strategies that supported frontline nursing staff and interdisciplinary team members will be discussed.

See more of EBP Competency and Culture: Developing Education and Resources in a Magnet Hospital
See more of The 17th International Nursing Research Congress Focusing on Evidence-Based Practice (19-22 July 2006)