Teaching Evidence-Based Practice To Undergraduate Nursing Students: Overcoming Obstacles

Evidence-based practice is highly valued in health care literature at this time. But research suggests that U.S. RNs face many obstacles when implementing evidence-based practice including a lack of value for research in practice (Pravikoff et al, 2005). Additional obstacles may exist for traditional U.S. BSN nursing students who may not value the importance of learning about evidence-based practice principles or of implementing evidence-based practice in the clinical setting. If we are to improve the use of evidence-based practice among U.S. RNs, learning and valuing the process must begin during the basic nursing educational program. This presentation outlines classroom research designed to uncover the specific obstacles to learning and implementing evidence-based practice described by traditional BSN students at a small, private, Catholic college just before they complete the final clinical internship before graduation. Several teaching strategies were designed to address the obstacles students described. A post-internship survey of the same students determined the effectiveness of the various teaching strategies. Recommendations for future research and for teaching strategies to enhance the learning and valuing of evidence-based practice among traditional U.S. BSN students are offered.