Discussion: Creating a Culture of Evidence-Based Practice

An abundance of evidence can be found on almost any medical issue or health topic. Often, the availability of information is not the concern, but rather nurses struggle with how to convey the evidence to others and change practices to better reflect the evidence.

Deep-rooted organizational cultures and policies can make some resistant to change, even to changes that can vastly improve the quality, effectiveness, and efficiency of health care. However, there are many strategies that nurses can employ to bring about changes to practice.

In this Discussion, you focus on how to create an organizational culture that supports evidence-based practice.

To prepare:

Review the information in this week's Learning Resources. Examine the various suggestions for promoting an organizational culture that embraces the use of EBP.

Reflect on your own organization's (or one in which you have worked) support of evidence-based practice. Examine how culture and policies impact the adoption of changes to practice based on evidence. What barriers exist?

Consider the models and suggestions for promoting evidence-based practice featured in this week's Learning Resources. Identify models and suggestions that would work well in your organization.

Reflect on the significance of evidence-based practice in health care. What responsibility do nurses have to promote EBP and change practices to better reflect evidence and research findings?

Reflect on how nurses can disseminate findings from evidence-based practice research.

Post an evaluation of your organization's use of EBP and how it is furthered or hindered by organizational culture and policies. Describe how you could disseminate the findings.

Propose a strategy for strengthening the culture of EBP within the organization. Discuss a nurse's responsibility to further the use of EBP, providing a rationale supported by specific information from the Learning Resources.

Read a selection of your colleagues' responses.

Respond to at least two of your colleagues on two different days using one or more of the following approaches:

Ask a probing question, substantiated with additional background information, and evidence.

Share an insight from having read your colleagues' postings, synthesizing the information to provide new perspectives.

Offer and support an alternative perspective using readings from the classroom or from your own review of the literature in the Walden Library.

Validate an idea with your own experience and additional sources.

Make a suggestion based on additional evidence drawn from readings or after synthesizing multiple postings.

Expand on your colleagues' postings by providing additional insights or contrasting perspectives based on readings and evidence.