This session within the symposium will endeavor to provide practical examples of collaborative activities.  The incorporation of a Nursing Practice Council and Leadership Council will be discussed to demonstrate some avenues for facilitating evidence-based practice at the grass root level.  By encouraging and exciting nurses at multiple levels within an acute care setting, patient safety and advancement of the nursing profession can be accomplished.  Another example of the benefits of collaboration at the fundamental level within an acute care setting will be provided through a discussion of the use of evidence-based research classes.  These classes will validate the use of evidence-based practice concepts at a practical and realistic level. 

            Without the effective incorporation of sensible and credible mechanisms for engaging the bedside nurse, the process of evidence-based nursing practice will encounter barriers to the actualization of the process.  Realistic methods which can be understood and embedded into the everyday practice of nursing care must be discussed and incorporated for the benefit of patient safety and the profession of nursing. This session will showcase viable means for advancing the process of collaboration and networking, thus humanizing the process of evidence-based practice.