Paper
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
This presentation is part of : Integration of Evidence-Based Practice Into Acute Care Settings
A Firm Foundation Comes First: Building an Infrastructure for Evidence-Based Practice
Rona Faye Levin, PhD, RN, Center for Nursing Research, Clinical Practice and International Affairs, Lienhard School of Nursing, Pace University, Pleasantville, NY, USA

This presentation will describe some of the lessons learned from conducting a pilot study to introduce evidence-based practice (EBP) into an acute care setting. The primary lesson is that an infrastructure, which supports such an initiative, needs to be in place before the introduction of an EBP model in order to achieve a successful outcome. Three major components of this infrastructure are champions, resources, and a culture that fosters critical thinking and problem solving at all levels of the nursing hierarchy. Champions are key individuals who believe in EBP and know how to integrate such a model of decision-making into the system. Developing these champions is an important step in the introduction of an EBP model of nursing care delivery. Resources are key to implementing any new initiative. Providing mentors as well as the time and the financial support needed by nurses to learn about EBP, and design and implement projects using an EBP model are essential elements for success. Last, but certainly not least, a culture that fosters EBP needs to be in place. Such a culture seeks to empower nurses to make clinical decisions. Standard practices of assessing current nursing care standards and developing new protocols based on best evidence need to involve the nurses “at the bedside” working collaboratively with performance improvement/quality assurance experts, rather than using the latter personnel alone to ask the questions and find the answers, and then passing this information “down”.