Skip to Main Content
Library

Nursing Resources

Welcome! This guide provides an effective way to locate library information and essential resources specifically related to nursing students, staff and faculty.

What is Evidence Based Nursing?

Evidence based medicine (EBM) and Evidence based nursing (EBN) are under the umbrella of Evidence Based Practice. Definitions of evidence based nursing have varied in scholarly literature.  Scott & McSherry's extensive literature review looked at commonalities between EBN definitions and synthesized them to come up with the following definition: 

"An ongoing process by which evidence, nursing theory and the practitioners’ clinical expertise are critically evaluated and considered, in conjunction with patient involvement, to provide delivery of optimum nursing care for the individual."

EBN in 5 Steps

The 5 "A's" will help you to remember the EBN process:

  • ASK:  Information needs from practice are converted into focused, structured questions.
  • ACQUIRE:  The focused questions are used as a basis for literature searching in order to identify relevant external evidence from research.
  • APPRAISE:  The research evidence is critically appraised for validity.
  • APPLY: The best available evidence is used alongside clinical expertise and the patient's perspective to plan care.
  • ASSESS:  Performance is evaluated through a process of self reflection, audit, or peer assessment.

Please see subsequent pages for more information about engaging in those steps.

EBP, Step by Step: Article Series from The American Journal of Nursing