Exploring Nurse Manager Support of Evidence-Based Practice: Clinical Nurse Perceptions

The study identifies what constitutes nurse manager (NM) support and other resources that enable clinical nurses (CNs) to engage in evidence-based practice (EBP).

Clinical nurses report that NM support enables them to use EBP but what constitutes NM support is still unclear.

Nurse managers, CNs, and EBP mentors received specialized education and use a team approach for EBP. Data were collected preintervention, mid-intervention, and postintervention from observations, interviews, journaling, and surveys.

Results demonstrate how NMs can perform their role responsibilities and still engage CNs to develop a spirit of inquiry, seek answers to their clinical questions using EBP, and advance their clinical performance to improve patient outcomes. Four NM supportive behaviors emerged: cultivating a shared EBP vision, ensuring use of EBP, communicating the value of EBP, and providing resources for EBP.

Through education and support, NMs describe supportive behaviors necessary for the successful conduction of EBP by CNs.