Building evidence-based practice capacity in nursing education: Implementing the academic Best Practice Spotlight...

Translating research findings into healthcare practice remains a major challenge worldwide. The Best Practice Spotlight Organization^® (BPSO) initiative, created by the Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario (RNAO), has been broadly adopted in healthcare organizations to promote the systematic implementation of evidence-based practice (EBP) guidelines. In contrast, the use of BPSO principles in nursing education to improve the workforce's readiness for evidence-based healthcare has not been widely studied.

This study outlines the implementation of an Academic BPSO initiative within a nursing education program in the Philippines.

We used a descriptive case study to examine how the Academic BPSO framework was integrated into a nursing school. Data were obtained from diverse sources, including institutional documents, curricular resources, program evaluations, and records on faculty development and student participation.

Findings indicate that the Academic BPSO initiative's implementation fostered the incorporation of Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) principles within the nursing curriculum. The initiative succeeded due to institutional support, champion training, and its integration into the curriculum. At the same time, faculty-student interactions promoted learning grounded in guidelines and the practical application of evidence-based care.

Academic BPSO initiatives demonstrate how nursing education programs can contribute to building workforce capacity for evidence-based healthcare by preparing graduates to participate in EBP implementation within healthcare systems.