Embracing Evidence-Based Practice as the Standard of Care (Podcast)

When nurses hear the phrase “evidence-based practice,” it may conjure up memories of research papers assigned in nursing school or dense journal articles loaded with data. However, evidence-based practice (EBP) is invaluable to ensuring patients receive the best possible care.

“Evidence-based practice is the expected standard of care, and distancing yourself from research is no longer an option,” says Lorraine Novosel, PhD, RN, APRN-CNP, AGPCNP-BC, NEA-BC, a nurse scientist in the Office of Nursing Research and Innovation at Cleveland Clinic. “So, nurses practicing today must have at least a foundational understanding of research – how to understand research and how it fits into this whole big thing called EBP.”

In the latest episode of Cleveland Clinic’s Nurse Essentials podcast, Novosel sheds light on evidence-based practice and offers reassurance to clinical nurses that they are well-positioned to implement EBP at the bedside. She discusses:

• The relationship between research and evidence-based practice
• How nurses can determine if evidence is valid and applicable to their patients
• Resources for becoming skilled at appraising evidence, including journal clubs and self-study modules
• Step-by-step advice for nurses who want to change practice based on EBP

Click the podcast player above to listen to the episode now, or read on for a short, edited excerpt. Check out more Nurse Essentials episodes at my.clevelandclinic.org/podcasts/nurse-essentials or wherever you get your podcasts.

Podcast excerpt

Podcast host Carol Pehotsky, DNP, RN, NEA-BC: Knowing that we all probably have a slightly different understanding of what evidence-based practice, or EBP, is versus research, what's your candid description of the difference between the two?

Novosel: Great question. The generally accepted version of evidence-based practice is the ability to identify and appraise the best available evidence and then taking that and integrating it with knowledge and with clinical practice and patient preferences and delivering that evidence-based care.

I like to talk about EBP as more of an umbrella term that encompasses all that we as nurses do. So, EBP is actually a process. All EBP starts with a question or a problem. The next step is then to search the evidence to critically appraise the evidence, and then to synthesize the evidence. And then you ask yourself, "OK, is there adequate evidence, strong evidence to guide my practice?"

If the answer is yes, then that is going to take us down the road for a quality improvement project or an evidence-based practice project. If there is not yet a sufficient body of strong evidence, then the next step is research.