The First U.S. Study on Nurses’ Evidence‐Based Practice Competencies Indicates Major Deficits That Threaten Healthcare Quality, Safety, and Patient Outcomes

Abstract

There is a tremendous need to enhance nurses' skills so that they achieve competency in EBP in order to ensure the highest quality of care and best population health outcomes. Academic programs should ensure competency in EBP in students by the time of graduation and healthcare systems should set it as an expectation and standard for all clinicians.

Nurse leaders’ perceptions and experiences of leading evidence: A qualitative enquiry

“…According to interviewees, both nurse leaders and their staff need systematic supplementary training on EBP competence and the management of EBP implementation. Training can be used to create a deeper mutual understanding of EBP, strengthen a culture that supports EBP and increase the credibility of nurse leaders (Melnyk et al, ; Schuman et al, ).…”

“…Reaching this goal in nursing will be challenging. For instance, the majority of nurses consider their existing evidence‐based practice (EBP) competence to be insufficient (Harper et al, ; Melnyk et al, ; Saunders, Vehviläinen‐Julkunen, & Stevens, ), whilst only just over half of nurse leaders believe that their own and their organisation's practice is evidence‐based (Melnyk et al, ). Nearly half of nurse leaders were also unsure of their own competence in implementing EBP.…”

“…Nurses and clinical nurse specialists continue to be more likely to base their decisions on information obtained from their education, practical experience, conferences, hospital policies and procedures, and colleagues rather than up‐to‐date research publications (Yoder et al, ). The use of research evidence has not yet become established in the decision‐making that concerns patients, even though considerable efforts to include EBP competence in nursing education (Melnyk et al, ) have been made. Different training and leadership interventions have been used to promote EBP in many working communities (Häggman‐Laitila, Mattila, & Melender, , ; Välimäki, Partanen, & Häggman‐Laitila, ).…”

Key considerations for selecting instruments when evaluating healthcare professionals’ evidence‐based practice competencies: A discussion paper

“…and unwanted variations of healthcare services (McGinty & Anderson, 2008;Melnyk, Fineout-Overholt, Gallagher-Ford, & Kaplan, 2012;Melnyk, Fineout-Overholt, Stillwell, & Williamson, 2010;Melnyk et al, 2018b). However, integration of EBP into the daily practice of healthcare professionals has been challenging (Gifford, Davies, Edwards, Griffin, & Lybanon, 2007;Melnyk et al, 2018a;Wilkinson, Nutley, & Davies, 2011) due to multifaceted reasons, including insufficient EBP competencies and confusion and uncertainty about the type of EBP competencies healthcare professionals should meet and exactly how they should be measured. These challenges impede healthcare organizations from delivering highest-quality, evidence-based healthcare and attaining best patient outcomes.…”

“…As a result, despite organizational leaders' and patients' expectations that EBP should be standard practice in daily healthcare delivery, the majority of clinicians do not engage in EBP on a consistent basis (McGinty & Anderson, 2008;Melnyk et al, 2012Melnyk et al, , 2016Melnyk et al, , 2018aSaunders, Stevens, & Vehviläinen-Julkunen, 2016a;Wallen et al, 2010). Far too many healthcare professionals still continue to deliver healthcare services to patients based on tradition, outdated routines and practices and expired information learned years before in their Upton, Stephens, Williams, & Scurlock-Evans, 2014).…”