Evidence-based practice (EBP) incorporates clinical experience, the most recent and best available research findings, as well as the patient’s specific values and circumstances. This type of practice is vital for nurses and the nursing profession since it provides several benefits: It assists nurses in developing their own knowledge base and bridging the gap between nursing research, training, and practice.
As a result, clinical decision-making by nurses should be based on the finest and most up-to-date research information available. Previous research on EBP adoption by nurses in their daily clinical practice has revealed that it is suboptimal. EBP implementation is defined as its use in clinical practice. Previous research has found that strengthening nurses’ beliefs about EBP can help them implement EBP more effectively. Belief is defined as one’s impression of the importance and advantages of EBP as well as one’s perceived self-confidence in one’s EBP knowledge and skills. Nurses who have a high belief in EBP use it more than nurses who have a poor confidence in the same.
There is reliable evidence showing that, while undergraduate nursing students have good ideas about EBP and its importance in patient care, they also describe several problems in implementing it in clinical practice. Thus, the goal of this study is to investigate the self-reported beliefs and implementations of EBP among Jordanian undergraduate nursing students (Abu-Baker et al., 2021). The specific goals of this study were to investigate nursing students’ beliefs and implementations of EBP, to investigate differences in students’ beliefs and implementations of EBP based on prior EBP training, and to investigate the relationship between nursing students’ beliefs and implementations of EBP.
Jordanian undergraduate nursing students praised EBP and its usefulness in providing excellent patient care, with more than 70% believing that EBP resulted in the best clinical care for patients and that evidence-based recommendations may enhance clinical care. Nevertheless, a lesser number of students believed in their capacity to adopt EBP where they worked, and an even lower percentage actually used EBP on a regular basis in their clinical setting (Horntvedt et al., 2018). For example, only one-third of the students visited an EBP resource, reviewed and critically assessed a clinical research article, or used evidence to modify their clinical practice four times or more in the previous eight weeks.
The present study found that, despite nursing students’ favorable perceptions, their application of EBP was quite poor. There was no statistically significant association between total EBP belief and total EBP implementation. Our findings are congruent with those reported among Saudi and American medical students who had good opinions about EBP but used it less regularly in their daily clinical practice. Furthermore, in keeping with prior research that found EBP training to be a strong predictor of beliefs and implementation, students who had previously received EBP training had considerably higher overall belief and implementation ratings than those who had not.
Evidence-based practice is. I believe, an essential element of medical education for students around the world. However, its scholarly importance does not necessarily guarantee frequent applications. On the other hand, giving EBP training courses is a critical step in improving EBP implementation. The study has shown me that it is critical to include EBP into nursing courses in order to promote nursing science and improve nursing care for future nurses. It is equally vital to teach nursing students the importance of evidence-based information, as well as how to obtain, assess, and use this knowledge effectively as necessary.
Reference List
Abu-Baker, N., AbuAlrub, S., Obeidat, R., & Assmairan, K. (2021). Evidence-based practice beliefs and implementations: a cross-sectional study among undergraduate nursing students. BMC Nursing, 20(1). Web.
Horntvedt, M. E. T., Nordsteien, A., Fermann, T., & Severinsson, E. (2018). Strategies for teaching evidence-based practice in nursing education: a thematic literature review. BMC medical education, 18(1), 1-11., Web.