Transforming Staff Nurses Professional Practice through Immersion in Evidence-based practice

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Primary Author:</td>
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Vicki Sandin, RN, MSN</td>
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Co-Principal Investigators/Collaborators:</td>
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<p>Amanda Williamson, MSN, RN, Tom Christenbery, PhD, RN, Nancy Wells, DNSc, RN</p>
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Organization:</td>
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Vanderbilt University Medical Center</td>
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Abstract</h2>
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Purpose</h3>
<p>The purpose of this study was to explore the professional and personal changes that occurred during and following a 1-year evidence-based practice fellowship program.</p>
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Background</h3>
<p>Evidence-based practice (EBP) fellowship programs have been shown to reduce barriers to EBP and foster professional growth. Nurses at one institution described their fellowship program as “life-changing”, prompting nursing leaders to examine what intrinsic changes occur as a result of participation in the program. </p>
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Materials & Methods</h3>
<p>Focus groups were conducted with staff nurses in an academic medical center who completed the EBP fellowship program from 2007 to 2011. Six questions with predetermined probes were asked during the focus groups. Participant responses were audiotaped and transcribed for content analysis using Atlas TI. Three focus groups were conducted before saturation was reached. A total of 12 staff nurses participated. </p>
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Results</h3>
<p>Five themes were identified from the data: support, resources, knowledge, confidence/self-actualization, and empowerment. Within each focus group, there were multiple examples of changes that occurred in these nurses in terms of their confidence in their abilities to seek evidence, apply it to their practice, and make practice changes based upon the best evidence. The sense that “I can make a practice change” reflects the sense of empowerment these nurses described. Participants in the focus groups described a transformation in their professional and personal development as a result of the fellowship program. The themes that emerged were consistent with Kanter’s definitions of the elements of structural empowerment. Each nurse gained knowledge, confidence, and the firmly-rooted sense that he/she can make a real difference in patient care through practice change.</p>
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Conclusion</h3>
<p>We observed differences in staff nurses’ commitment to nursing and an enthusiasm for research that was not evident prior to the fellowship program. Our data suggest that a 1-year program on research and EBP may provide essential elements needed for structural empowerment. Ultimately, this sense of empowerment will lead to better patient outcomes. </p>
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Bibliography</h3>
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Gawlinski, A. & Becker, E. (2012). Infusing research into practice: a staff nurse evidence-based practice fellowship program. Journal for Nurses in Staff Development, 28(2), 69-73.</li>
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Kanter, R.M. (1979). Power failure in management circuits. Harvard Business Review, 57, 65 -75.</li>
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Kanter, R.M. (1993). Men and women of the corporation (2nd. Ed.). New York, NY: Basic Books.</li>
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Turkel, M. C., Ferket, K., Reidinger, G., & Beatty, D. E. (2008).</li>
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Building a nursing research fellowship in a community hospital. Nursing Economics, 26(1), 26-34.</li>
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<p>© Improvement Science Research Network, 2012</p>
<p>The ISRN published this as received and with permission from the author(s).</p>