Perceived knowledge, skills, attitude and contextual factors affecting evidence‐based practice among nurse educators, clinical coaches and nurse specialists

Abstract

Evidence-based practice (EBP) in the clinical setting is recognized as an approach that leads to improved patient outcomes. Nurse educators (NEs), clinical coaches (CCs) and nurse specialists are in key positions to promote and facilitate EBP within clinical settings and have opportunities to advance practice. Therefore, it is important to understand their perceptions of factors promoting EBP and perceived barriers in facilitating EBP in clinical settings, before developing educational programmes. This paper reports findings from a study that aimed to explore NEs' , CCs' and nurse specialists' knowledge, skills and attitudes associated with EBP. This study used a questionnaire containing quantitative and a small number of qualitative questions to capture data collected from NEs, CCs and nurse specialists working at a tertiary health-care facility in Victoria, Australia. The questionnaire was distributed to a total of 435 people, of whom 135 responded (31%). Findings revealed that the three senior nurse groups relied heavily on personal experience, organizational policies and protocols as formal sources of knowledge. Furthermore, they had positive attitudes towards EBP. However, participants demonstrated lack of knowledge and skills in appraising and utilizing evidence into practice. They indicated a desire to seek educational opportunities to upskill themselves in the process of EBP.

Implementation of evidence‐based practice by nurses working in community settings and their strategies to mentor student nurses to develop evidence‐based practice: A qualitative study

“…Mentors relied on national and local guidelines and policies to inform their practice and to provide assurance that it is evidence‐based. These findings are similar to that of Malik et al who found 90% of nurse educators and 94% of clinical nurse specialists used policies and protocols for information and knowledge . A study across 10 acute hospitals also found nurses relied on hospital policies and procedures for knowledge .…”

“…Melnyk et al also reported nurses' negative beliefs towards EBP impacted their intention to implement this approach in their daily practice . Even though, for nurses, EBP is frequently supported by guidelines and policies …”

Evidence based practice readiness: A concept analysis

“…The responsibility of providing evidence based practice cannot lie on the shoulders of one qualified nurse, but in a collective group of qualified nurses. Nurses need the professional autonomy and the authority to implement evidence based practice into their practice (Saunders, Stevens, et al., ) and allocated time away from the bedside dedicated to finding and critiquing the literature (Malik, McKenna, & Plummer, ).…”

“…Equipping involves ensuring that nurses have access to a computer or other databases to search available literature, evidence based practice mentors, and access to current peer‐reviewed nursing journals at the point of care (Saunders & Vehvilainen‐Julkunen, ; Thiel & Ghosh, ). Lack of resources has been reported in multiple studies as one of the greatest barriers to evidence based practice implementation (Malik et al., ; Melnyk et al., ; Patelarou et al., ; Thorsteinsson & Sveinsdottir, ). In some studies, despite having available evidence based practice resources, some nurses report not knowing what is available or how to access it (Thorsteinsson & Sveinsdottir, ).…”

“…Leadership development includes the integration of evidence based practice mentors. Mentorship programmes have been shown to be successful at fostering evidence based practice, including increasing its utilization into practice and nurturing positive attitudes and beliefs about evidence based practice (Malik et al., ; Melnyk et al., ; Saunders & Vehvilainen‐Julkunen, ; Saunders, Vehvilainen‐Julkunen, et al., ).…”