From Caterpillars to Butterflies: Engaging Nurse Leaders in Evidence-Based Practice Reform

Evidence-based practice (EBP) occurs when the integration of best evidence is brought to the bedside to ground patient care decisions. Barriers to EBP have lingered for years and held unabated. The experiences of an academic medical center offer fresh perspectives in devolving the accountability for EBP where care is provided and received by patients. More specifically, the initiative is a focused engagement of nurse leaders in administrative positions for energizing bedside nurses to reform the enculturation of EBP. The goal is not to control but to explore approaches of handling the barriers with a complexity mindset amidst uncertainties. Nurses' collective engagement is envisioned to spark or refine creative ideas that will steer and account for EBP outcomes. The flight of the butterfly is used as a metaphor; hence, the title for the Monarch Moments Initiative.