Although nurses across generations have called for nursing practice to be informed by the best evidence available in the moment, evidence-based practice has gained prominence across healthcare since release of the 2001 Institute of Medicine’s report Crossing the Quality Chasm. Recent nursing literature is replete with calls for evidence-based practice to be the foundation for nursing practice and incorporated in nursing education across levels. However, it is essential to clarify what is evidence-based practice in nursing in order to address concerns for what should be the evidence for nursing practice and teaching-learning in nursing. In exploring the questions “Is it evidence?” and “Is it nursing?” recommendations and challenges are provided to nurse leaders in administration and education for assuring appropriate evidence is used to guide the teaching-learning and practice of nursing.
American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN). (2006). The essentials of doctoral education for advanced nursing practice. Washington, DC: Author.
2.
American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN). (2008). The essentials of baccalaureate education for professional nursing practice. Washington, DC: Author.
3.
American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN). (2011). The essentials of master’s education in nursing. Washington, DC: Author.
4.
ClarkeP. N. (2017). The elusive nursing science: Implications for the future. Nursing Science Quarterly, 30(4), 310-311.
Institute of Medicine. (2001). Crossing the quality chasm: A new health system for the 21st century. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.
7.
LeeR. C.FawcettJ. (2013). The influence of the metaparadigm of nursing on professional identity development among RN-BSN students. Nursing Science Quarterly, 26(1), 96-98.
8.
MelnykB. M. (2016a). The doctor of nursing practice degree = evidence-based practice expert. Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing, 13(3), 183-184.
9.
MelnykB. M. (2016b). Level of evidence plus critical appraisal of its quality yields confidence to implement evidence-based practice changes. Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing, 13(5), 337-339.
10.
MelnykB. M.Fineout-OverholtE. (2015). Evidence-based practice in nursing and healthcare: A guide to best practice (3rd ed.). Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer.
11.
MiltonC. L. (2017). The ethics of big data and nursing science. Nursing Science Quarterly, 30(4), 300-302.
12.
MitchellG. (1999). Evidence-based practice: Critique and alternative view. Nursing Science Quarterly, 12(1), 30-35.
13.
MitchellG. (2013). Implications of holding ideas of evidence-based practice in nursing. Nursing Science Quarterly, 26(2), 143-151.
NightingaleF. (1969). Notes on nursing: What it is and what it is not. New York, NY: Dover. (Original work published in 1860.)
16.
ParseR. R. (2013a). Research as evidence: The many meanings. Nursing Science Quarterly, 26(2), 109.
17.
ParseR. R. (2013b). “What we’ve got here is failure to communicate”: The meaning of the termnursing perspective. Nursing Science Quarterly, 26(1), 5-6.
18.
ParseR. R. (2013c). Words: What do they really mean?Nursing Science Quarterly, 26(3), 209.
19.
ParseR. R. (2014). Evidence-based practice in nursing: Here or gone with the wind of disenchantment?Nursing Science Quarterly, 27(3), 189.
20.
ParseR. R. (2016). Scientific merit: Integrity in research. Nursing Science Quarterly, 29(1), 5.
21.
ParseR. R. (2017). Challenges in publishing. Nursing Science Quarterly, 30(4), 289-290.
22.
WallS. (2008). A critique of evidence-based practice in nursing: Challenging the assumptions. Social Theory & Health, 6, 37-53.
