First US study on nurses’ evidence-based practice competencies finds major deficits

Editor's Note

The results of this study indicate that US nurses do not believe they are meeting evidence-based practice competencies.

In this survey of 2,344 nurses from 19 hospitals or healthcare systems, the nurses overall reported they were not yet competent in meeting any of the 24 evidence-based practice competencies. Younger nurses and those with higher levels of education reported higher competency.

Competency scores were not significantly difference between nurses in Magnet and non-Magnet organizations.

There is a tremendous need to enhance nurses’ skills so they achieve competency in evidence-based practices in order to ensure the highest quality of care and best patient outcomes, the researchers say.