Abstract

Despite an abundance of scientific evidence to ensure nurse clinicians deliver the highest quality of care to achieve optimal outcomes for patients, barriers and challenges exist that prevent adoption of this evidence into routine clinical practice. Evidence-Based Practice Clinical Research Fellowship Programs (EBP CRFP) are designed and implemented to facilitate the adoption of scientific evidence into clinical nursing practice; however, these programs have not been adequately evaluated in terms of the impact of the program on participants, their clinical practice, and the organization. The purpose of this hermeneutical phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of nurse clinicians who have participated in the EBP CRFP at a 700 bed hospital in Southern California to explore what impact this program had on their professional lives. This study utilized face to face interviews with six participants who graduated from the EBP CRFP in June of 2008. The data collected was analyzed utilizing a systematic process of data analysis that involved Epoche, phenomenological reduction, imaginative variation, and synthesis. Seven themes emerged from the data that connected the experiences of the all the participants and were categorized as: (a) increased confidence, (b) empowerment (c) commitment to practice development and improvement, (d) pursuit of knowledge, (e) ethical imperative for EBP, (f) excitement and enthusiasm for the EBP process, and (g) awareness of the burning clinical questions. The findings of this study indicates that in addition to the benefits EBP is purported to have for nurse clinicians, there may also be universal outcomes positively impacting nurses who have graduated from an EBP CRFP. The study supports the need for further exploration and evaluation of these programs in terms of not only the professional and personal impact upon the nurse, but the impact upon the patients and organizations as well.

Library of Congress Subject Headings

Evidence-based nursing; Dissertations (EdD) -- Organizational leadership

Date of Award

2009

School Affiliation

Graduate School of Education and Psychology

Department/Program

Education

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctorate

Faculty Advisor

Rhodes, Kent

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