Evidence-based practice (EBP) represents a fundamental shift in how nurses deliver patient care, integrating current research with clinical expertise and patient preferences to improve outcomes. Far from a passing trend, EBP is now the standard approach to nursing practice. The online Registered Nurse (RN) to Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program from the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW) prepares nurses to apply evidence-based care in clinical settings through comprehensive coursework in research, health assessment and leadership.
In UNCW’s 30-credit-hour program, students take courses like Research in Nursing and Pathophysiologic and Pharmacological Evidence Based Nursing Care, which strengthen their ability to examine current research and translate findings into practice. Students can complete the program in as few as 12 months while continuing to work, allowing them to advance their career opportunities and skill with practices like evidence-based care while maintaining employment and serving their patients.
What Is Evidence-based Practice in Nursing?
Evidence-based practice leverages the best current evidence and clinical expertise to inform nursing care and decision-making with a focus on patient preferences and values. The origins of evidence-based practice (EBP) date back to Florence Nightingale in the 1800s. EBP gained substantial momentum in the 1990s following breakthroughs in nursing research. In 1993, a network of professionals, academics and institutions established the Cochrane Collaboration to manage and update systematic reviews of clinical interventions used in EBP.
Students in RN to BSN programs learn the concepts of EBP so they can apply them in clinical settings. Research shows that patients in hospitals that increased their proportion of BSN-prepared nurses over time experienced significantly reduced odds of mortality, reduced readmissions and shorter hospital stays, demonstrating the measurable impact of evidence-based nursing care.
What Are the Seven Steps of Implementing Evidence-based Practice?
Originally, practitioners described EBP as a five-step process. Over time, EBP expanded to include two additional actions, creating the current seven-step framework for implementing evidence-based practice:
- Cultivate an EBP culture and environment that encourages inquiry.
- Pose a compelling clinical question in the PICOT format (defining the population, intervention/issue, comparison, outcome and time involved).
- Search for the most relevant and exceptional information and gather the evidence.
- Critically appraise the evidence through careful and systematic examination, evaluation, synthesis and recommendations.
- Integrate the collected evidence with clinical knowledge and patient preferences and values to make a practice decision or change.
- Evaluate the practice decision or change based on the applied evidence.
- Disseminate the outcomes of the EBP decision or change in publications, presentations, health policy briefs and the media.
This systematic approach enables nurses to move from research findings to actionable improvements in patient care. EBP also supports ongoing learning and improvement, ensuring patient care continues to evolve.
What Are the Benefits of Evidence-based Practice for Patient Outcomes?
EBP is a major component of patient care delivery. According to a position statement from the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), nurses must use the best scientific evidence available to improve quality and safety while maintaining high ethical standards. In addition to aiding in the development of effective practices, EBP can uncover ineffective, or even harmful, traditional methods nurses should not employ. For example:
- Medical practitioners should not give aspirin to children with fever or viral illness symptoms because it can increase the risk of Reye’s syndrome.
- After gastrointestinal illness, children should resume eating a healthy diet as soon as possible instead of consuming the BRAT diet (bananas, rice, applesauce and toast), which is suboptimal for its low protein and fat content.
- To avoid skin ulcers, nurses and aides should turn patients based on their individual condition rather than the habitual practice of turning them every two hours.
These evidence-based practice examples demonstrate how research findings translate into improved protocols. Medical professionals can replace outdated practices with evidence-based approaches that relieve patient discomfort, decrease the risk of errors and increase the likelihood of positive outcomes.
What Are the Barriers to Evidence-based Practice Implementation?
Even though EBP results in optimal patient care, healthcare systems do not consistently apply it. Barriers exist for nurses who want to implement EBP. Research published in 2024 identified key barriers, including insufficient time due to heavy workloads, a lack of administrative support and limited access to current research databases.
Nurses need their healthcare systems to prioritize EBP so they can enhance patient care and control expenses. Organizations should invest in creating supportive environments, incorporating dedicated time for research review, establishing mentorship programs and providing access to scholarly databases. With these resources, nurses can more effectively implement evidence-based approaches that improve outcomes.
How Do RN to BSN Programs Prepare Nurses for Evidence-based Practice?
Nursing students in RN to BSN programs learn to incorporate EBP effectively into their practice. Dedicated coursework in UNCW’s online RN to BSN program explores the research design and analysis processes necessary to examine and apply nursing science.
Students gain experience in critically appraising research literature, synthesizing findings and developing strategies for evidence-based practice implementation. UNCW’s RN to BSN program emphasizes evidence-based decision-making in patient care, strengthening students’ ability to optimize and continuously improve care in today’s complex healthcare environments.
Learn more about UNCW’s online RN to BSN program.
