Teaching evidence-based practice piece by PEACE

Teaching evidence-based practice (EBP) to nurse practitioner (NP) students creates a challenge. Practicing NPs are frequently called upon to develop EBP protocols and therefore, must be proficient in defining clinical problems, retrieving and appraising evidence, implementing protocols to change practice based on evidence, and evaluating the practice changes. A new faculty team integrated the constructivist approach using the PEACE framework to rebuild the EBP course. Course modules corresponded to each letter of the PEACE framework: problem identification, evidence retrieval, appraisal of evidence, changing practice or conducting more research, and evaluation. Students collaborated with a non-nursing professional as part of the college's commitment to interprofessional learning. Following the PEACE framework, students created an evidence-based poster of a proposed clinical practice change. Feedback from faculty and students was positive. Areas for improvement included eliminating redundancy in module content, standardizing all grading rubrics, and adding more virtual sessions for student/faculty interaction.