KT Activities at McMaster

Background
Evidence-based nursing practice (EBNP) is an approach to health care that is the logical extension of the concept of evidence-based medicine. It is an approach to nursing in which the nurse is aware of the research evidence relevant to his/her clinical practice, and the strength of that evidence.

EBNP, like evidence-based medicine, is an important framework for approaching clinical questions. The effective use of evidence requires nurses and other staff to assess the validity of study results and the extent to which the results are applicable to specific clinical issues.

About
Members of the Canadian Centre for Evidence Based Nursing and the School of Nursing at McMaster have developed a week long workshop to teach and enhance participants’ EBNP skills.

The EBNP workshop:

• Has the objectives of advancing participants’ skills in critical appraisal of research literature and enabling them to teach EBNP
• Offers different tutorial groups based on participants’ needs, including tutorials focusing on: Advanced Practice Nursing, nursing faculty, general nursing, gerontology, oncology, and public health.
• Has teaching groups that will emphasize either teaching EBNP or critical appraisal, as dictated by participants needs.
• Substantive workshop materials are available to participants, including literature on teaching, the small group format, and a set of clinical problems.

Knowledge Translation at McMaster
The EBNP workshop is an educational initiative designed to help nurses learn how to teach and apply evidence-based nursing practice. EBNP is essentially a knowledge translation initiative, in the sense that it emphasizes the appropriate use and evaluation of information by the proper parties. Education is one component through which McMaster supports knowledge translation. EBNP shows that KT education and services are important not only for physicians, but also for an interdisciplinary team as well.

Contact Information:
Dr. Maureen Dobbins<dobbinsm@mcmaster.ca >