Using Clinical Narratives in Program and Curriculum Evaluation

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Evidence-Based Practice
• Qualitative Research Methods

Background:

• Clinical narratives serve as valuable teaching tools, illustrating the art of nursing and revealing critical thinking and proficiency.
• They offer insights into practice changes and learning that extend beyond traditional classroom settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide an example of utilizing clinical narratives for evaluating the Department of Veterans Health Affairs Office of Nursing Services (ONS) Evidence-Based Practice Curriculum (EBPC).

Main Methods:

• A mixed-method evaluation of the EBPC incorporated clinical narrative methods.
• Three participants described incidents where they applied at least two components of evidence-based practice (best available evidence, clinical expertise, patient preference).

Main Results:

• Analysis of clinical narratives confirmed the successful application of evidence-based practice components.
• Integration into individual nursing practice was evident, yielding insights beyond other evaluation methods.

Conclusions:

• Rich clinical narratives, when integrated into mixed-method evaluations, offer deeper insights than standard metrics like knowledge uptake or satisfaction scores.
• This approach provides a more comprehensive understanding of practice integration and learning outcomes.