Research is often the least favorable course for undergraduate nursing students.  They perceive that nursing research is irrelevant to nursing practice. More often they view research as a dry subject.  To promote evidence-base practice and make research more relevant to nursing students, the author has refocused the emphasis in an undergraduate research course from research theory to using research in practice.

The students were grouped in different journal clubs in the beginning of the semester.  Didactic content on the research process and critical appraisal of research articles were taught in the first half of the class. This was followed by journal club discussions.  Each group decided on a topic and worked on a research utilization project together. The project includes the problem, the research utilization model, literature search and reviews, evaluation of the current use of research findings and a plan for implementation.

The final project was a poster conference that was planned and designed by the planning committee organized by group leaders.  They planned for food, program agenda, and jeopardy- style questions.  Students who completed all questions were eligible for ruffle drawing.  The prizes and food were contributed by students and faculty.   The undergraduate director was invited as keynote speaker to speak on evidence-base practice.  It was fun and educational for all students. The evaluation was positive.  The student nurses began to perceive that research was relevant to nursing.

Although it was successful, the lessons learned from this experience and implications for the future implementations will be discussed