Collaborative Coursework: An Effective Teaching Modality to Improve Nursing Students' Translation of Evidence into Practice

Thursday, March 26, 2020: 3:45 PM

Jennifer Lemoine, DNP, APRN, NNP-BC
Roger D. Rholdon Jr., DNP, APRN, CPNP-AC
Tricia A. Templet, DNP, APRN, CPNP-PC, FNP-C, CPEN
Charlotte Craven, BSN, RN
Jessica Hanna, BSN, RN
College of Nursing and Allied Health Professions, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Lafayette, LA, USA

Background: Pedagogical strategies in nursing education have traditionally combined didactic instruction with clinical experience. This approach provides an opportunity for students to apply theory into practice. Traditional delivery of content, via lecture or online formats, in research and evidence-based practice (EBP) courses in baccalaureate nursing education lacks a theory-to-practice integrative learning approach. Evidence suggest that engaging students in the EBP process may lead to better comprehension of the relevance of research findings (Fiset, Graham, & Davies, 2017).

Purpose: To examine the effects of a collaborative EBP project across a maternal-child nursing and a co-requisite EBP research course among senior-level nursing students enrolled in a traditional baccalaureate nursing program on the frequency of use of EBP, attitude toward EBP, and knowledge/skills related to EBP at the beginning and the end of the semester.

Methods: Pre-posttest design using the Student Evidence Based Practice Questionnaire©, a tool developed for use with undergraduate nursing students (Chronbach’s alpha 0.76 to 0.96). Primary outcome measures included mean scores for nursing students’ frequency of use of EBP (practice subscale), attitude toward EBP (attitude subscale), and knowledge/skills in EBP (retrieving subscale). An a priori power analysis was conducted to determine a sufficient sample size using an alpha of 0.05, a power of 0.80, and a medium effect size (d = 0.4). Based on these assumptions, the desired sample size was n = 41. Fifty-six students participated in this study and no participants were lost to attrition.

Results: There was a statistically significant difference in pre versus post-test mean scores for all primary outcome measures (p < .001) and several subscale categories, including finding evidence (p < .001), sharing outcomes with peers (p < .001), and changes in practice because of found evidence (p = .044). Gender and previous/current history of working in the hospital setting (which may have exposed participants to EBP initiatives) did not reveal any statistically significant differences.

Conclusions: Evidence suggests the common barriers related to nursing student’s use of evidence in clinical education include lack of support in the clinical setting, lack of knowledge and skill set, and negative attitudes toward EBP (Fiset, et al., 2017). While the theory behind EBP is integrated across undergraduate nursing curricula, engaging students in a collaborative EBP project allows them to translate theory into practice and assume an active role in the learning process. Barriers to implementing EBP cited among licensed nurses include lack of time, knowledge, mentors, and organizational support (Melnyk, Fineout-Overholt, Gallagher-Ford, & Kaplan, 2012). Increasing awareness of and involvement in EBP among nursing students during their formal education and training may place them at an advantage as they progress to the workplace.

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