An educational program to transition oncology nurses at the Norwegian Radium Hospital to an evidence-based practice model: development, implementation, and preliminary outcomes

Abstract

Increasingly, nurses are expected to systematically improve their practice according to principles of evidence-based practice (EBP). In 2009, the Norwegian Radium Hospital, inspired by the EBP nursing model at its sister institution, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, began transitioning its oncology nurses to an EBP model. Norwegian Radium Hospital nursing leaders selected an EBP expert to design an EBP educational program. The program consisted of a 1-semester, 15-credit-hour postgraduate EBP course followed by a clinical practicum during which selected nurses worked in groups to apply principles of EBP to challenging clinical questions. As of this writing, 60 staff nurses have completed the program. Nurses participating in the EBP program have developed 13 evidence-based clinical guidelines, evidence-based clinical procedures, and patient information documents, 9 of which have been adopted as national standards. Participants have demonstrated increased confidence in providing the best available patient care, deeper reflection about their practice, and a sense of being valued by their nurse and physician colleagues. At the institutional level, the EBP project has resulted in higher confidence that patients are receiving patient-centered care based on the best scientific evidence. The project has also resulted in increased collaboration between nurses and other practitioners within multidisciplinary clinical problem-solving teams. This successful EBP program could serve as a model for other cancer hospitals desiring to move to an EBP patient-care model, not only for nursing practice but also, more broadly, for delivery of cancer care by diverse multidisciplinary teams.