The Implementation and Dissemination of Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) at an Academic Medical Center: Creating a Hospital-Academic Partnership

To develop and implement a comprehensive program that facilitated EBP projects and nurse-initiated research in a large medical center through the formation of a strong academic-hospital partnership. With the guidance of two PhD-prepared nurse researchers, UUHCs and CON formed an EBP Council to foster clinician education and utilization of EBP. The team included the 2 CON faculty, staff nurses, nurse leaders, hospital educators, pharmacists, librarians, RTs, LCSWs, and value engineers among others. Face-to-face initiatives to educate providers on integration of EBP in the clinical setting provides some benefit, but ‘holding the gains' over time is more difficult. The two-part EBP educational series produced important results (e.g. increased comfort in implementing EBP and more likely to use a PICOT question to guide clinical inquiry), but it did not significantly alter clinical practice in many of the areas six months following education. We are now creating a series of short on-line modules and will re-assess optimal educational approach.