Target audience: Nursing faculty from undergraduate and graduate nursing programs, and nursing educators from health care institutions are the target audience.

Content: Competencies for evidence-based practice will be discussed for nurses prepared at various educational levels including entry level practice, the master's degree, the clinical doctorate, and the Ph.D. Nurses prepared for entry-level practice are expected to be able to identify problems at the individual patient level, and use best evidence to solve patient problems. The master's prepared nurse is expected to identify problems at the individual and system levels, and implement and evaluate evidence-based practice changes. Nurses with clinical doctorates are expected to provide leadership within health care settings for development and implementation of evidence-based guidelines and protocols. Nurses prepared at the Ph.D. level are expected to conduct efficacy research to build scientific knowledge, and effectiveness research to translate evidence into practice. The competencies will be reflected in examples of curriculum objectives for each educational level. Learning activities will be discussed for achieving competency at each educational level.

Implications: Nursing educators worldwide need to have an understanding of the competencies for evidence-based practice appropriate to the different levels of nursing education. This understanding may serve to guide development of curricula for teaching and socializing nursing students to evidence-based nursing.

Back to Improving Nursing Practice Through Evidence
Back to Evidence-Based Nursing: Strategies for Improving Practice
Sigma Theta Tau International
July 21, 2004