Translating Evidence into Practice.

Translating evidence into practice is a constant theme that nurses at all levels of practice constantly hear. However, moving evidence into practice is not as easy as it seems. Literature supports that we are making slow progress, but the challenge of abandoning tradition and leaving our comfort zones remains difficult, especially for nurses working in a clinical setting. Nursing research provides a valuable roadmap guiding clinical decision-making and improved best care practices. Despite its importance, clinical nurses still do not view themselves as active consumers of research, preferring that educators and nurse leaders gather, synthesize, and report the benefits of adopting new evidence-based practices (Becker et al., 2012; Yoder et al., 2014). A systematic review of 45 studies (Squires, 2011) further reveals that a nurse’s attitude toward research affects research utilization. In other words, nurses who feel positively about research studies are more likely to make changes in clinical practice; those who either do not care or have a negative attitude toward the value of research studies, are unlikely to change clinical practices. Other factors that contribute to the acceptance of research and its utilization are having a graduate degree, job satisfaction, attending conferences, and in-service education. While sometimes challenging, all nurses must take a more active role and become advocates committed to translating evidence into practice. But realistically how can this be accomplished? Some action steps to consider: 1. Read at least one research study a month pertaining to an area of high interest. 2. Coordinate and/or participate in research topic roundtable discussions at your place of work or start a “journal club” that meets at least once monthly. 3. When you have a “problem situation” in your setting, have someone review the literature to determine if there are any existing best practices that your team should consider. Some excellent evidence-based sources include http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed; http://www.cochranelibrary.com/; http://joannabriggs.org/ 4. Share relevant high-quality research results with colleagues via email, bulletin boards, or posters. 5. Join a clinical practice committee in your organization that reviews the evidence and develops guidelines, policies, and care standards. 6. Have a “research moment” in staff meetings to share relevant and applicable research studies focusing on best practices and their application to your work unit. 7. Identify a core group of enthusiastic and informed individuals who may serve as champions or “change agents” to demonstrate how evidence can be moved into practice via clinical practice guidelines, in-service offerings, etc. 8. Establish a “safe zone” for questions, brainstorming, and mentoring on how translating evidence into practice may be accomplished and barriers overcome. 9. Attend a conference or in-service meeting that discusses evidence-based practice. 10. Make positive evidence-based changes well known and disseminate to others (review Jackson et al., 2016 article in this issue for examples). 11. Celebrate accomplishments and recognize champions and facilitators of evidence-based practice. Professional growth is a lifelong commitment in nursing. We are fortunate to work in a discipline, where knowledge is constantly evolving, leading to advancements in practice standards and quality care. However, clinicians are a key component of change and enable adoption of new practice patterns/standards. Becoming aware, being up-to-date in the literature, knowing best practices, and applying them to care situations are central to our work. Small incremental steps matter, leading to larger long-term outcomes.