Building a Unit-Level Mentored Program to Sustain a Culture of Inquiry for Evidence-Based Practice

Area of Science:

• Nursing Science
• Healthcare Management
• Organizational Behavior

Background:

• Evidence-based practice (EBP) is crucial for quality nursing care in military healthcare.
• Identifying practice gaps and applying scientific advancements are vital for military nurses.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess a dynamic educational and mentoring program's effectiveness in fostering an evidence-based practice (EBP) culture among military nurses.
• To introduce, promote, and sustain EBP principles within a military healthcare setting.

Main Methods:

• The Advancing Research through Close Collaboration Model guided the intervention.
• Data collected using Organizational Readiness for System-wide Integration of Evidence-Based Practice, EBP Beliefs, and EBP Implementation scales.
• Pre- and post-intervention surveys administered to staff nurses in three military hospitals.

Main Results:

• Significant improvement in Organizational Readiness for System-wide Integration of Evidence-Based Practice scores (70.96 to 77.63, P < .01).
• All three measures showed improvement in a subsample (n=56) of nurses completing pre- and post-tests.
• Overall, 38% completed baseline and 31% completed follow-up surveys.

Conclusions:

• A unit-level mentored EBP program can be sustained despite organizational restructuring and workforce changes.
• Commitment to an EBP culture can diffuse within an organization, even during periods of significant change.
• The program demonstrated effectiveness in enhancing nurses' readiness for, beliefs about, and implementation of EBP.