Faculty Perception of the Effectiveness of EBP Courses for Graduate Nursing Students. (30th September 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Zeleníková, Renáta; Beach, Michael; Ren, Dianxu; Wolff, Emily; Sherwood, Paula
• Is Part Of: Worldviews on evidence-based nursing. Volume 11:Number 6(2014)
• Page Start: 401
• Page End: 413
• Publication Date: 2014-09-30
• Subjects: Evidence-based nursing -- Periodicals; 610.7
• DOI: 10.1111/wvn.12068
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1545-102X

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="main"> <title>ABSTRACT</title> <sec id="wvn12068-sec-0010" sec-type="section"> <title>Background</title> <p>Effective teaching is key in preparing students to become successful evidence‐based healthcare professionals. The effectiveness of graduate evidence‐based practice (EBP) pedagogy is not often a subject of research studies.</p> </sec> <sec id="wvn12068-sec-0020" sec-type="section"> <title>Purpose</title> <p>The purpose of this study was to determine how faculty from the 50 top graduate nursing schools in the United States perceived the effectiveness of EBP courses for graduate nursing students.</p> </sec> <sec id="wvn12068-sec-0030" sec-type="section"> <title>Methods</title> <p>A descriptive cross‐sectional design was used to explore faculty perception of the effectiveness of EBP courses. A web‐based survey was used for data collection. A total of 45 questionnaires were subjected to statistical analysis.</p> </sec> <sec id="wvn12068-sec-0040" sec-type="section"> <title>Results</title> <p>The mean perception of the effectiveness of EBP courses for the whole sample, on a scale from 1 to 7, was 5.58 (min. 4.29; max. 6.73), a higher score signifying higher perceived effectiveness. The highest rated item concerned a school's access to different databases. The strongest correlations were found between the total score and the scores for items describing students' opportunities to strengthen and apply their EBP skills (<italic>rs</italic> = .66). The internal consistency of the Perception of Effectiveness of EBP Courses scale, based on standardized Cronbach's alpha, was .84, which signifies strong internal consistency. Faculty perceived themselves as most competent at the following EBP skills: (a) "Asking questions regarding patients' care" (6.56), (b) "Considering patient preferences when implementing EBP" (6.40), and (c) "Critically appraising the relevant body of evidence to address clinical questions" (6.40).</p> </sec> <sec id="wvn12068-sec-0050" sec-type="section"> <title>Discussion</title> <p>To strengthen the effectiveness of EBP courses, students should have more opportunities to implement their EBP knowledge and skills after completing EBP courses.</p> </sec> <sec id="wvn12068-sec-0060" sec-type="section"> <title>Linking Evidence to Action</title> <p>Evaluation of faculty perceptions of the effectiveness of EBP courses can help to guide the development of nursing school curricula that better integrate EBP. Further evaluation of the psychometric properties of the instrument used to measure perception of the effectiveness of EBP courses is required along with objective measures of faculty knowledge and skills in teaching EBP.</p> </sec> </abstract>