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NURS 4222: Nursing Research and Evidence-Based Practice: What is EBP

What is Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM)?

Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM) is the integration of clinical expertise, patient values, and the best research evidence into the decision making process for patient care. Clinical expertise refers to the clinician’s cumulated experience, education and clinical skills. The patient brings to the encounter his or her own personal preferences and unique concerns, expectations, and values. The best research evidence is usually found in clinically relevant research that has been conducted using sound methodology (Sackett, 1997).

What is Evidence-Based Practice?

Evidence-based practice (EBP) is the integration of

  • Clinical expertise/expert opinion
    • The knowledge, judgment, and critical reasoning acquired through your training and professional experiences
  • Evidence (external and internal)
    • The best available information gathered from the scientific literature (external evidence) and from data and observations collected on your individual client (internal evidence)
  • Client/patient/caregiver perspectives
    • The unique set of personal and cultural circumstances, values, priorities, and expectations identified by your client and their caregivers
 

When all three components of EBP are considered together, clinicians can make informed, evidence-based decisions and provide high-quality health services reflecting the interests, values, needs, and choices of individuals.

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. (n.d.) Evidence-Based Practice (EBP). https://www.asha.org/research/ebp/