Abstract
Evidence-based practice, or evidence-based decision-making, is rapidly developing as a growth industry in nursing and the health professions more widely. It has its origins in the work of the British epidemiologist Archie Cochrane and has recently been re-energized in Canada by the National Forum on Health and its call for a culture of evidence-based decision-making. Before we adopt evidence-based nursing (EBN) as a mantra for the 21st century, we should examine its origins and its consequences, and we should probe related concepts, 2 of which are the nature and structure of practice-based knowledge and the nature and structure of evidence generally. Findings of a recent survey of nurses in western Canada are used to illustrate that nurses use a broad range of practice knowledge, much of which is experientially based rather than research-based.
Keywords
MantraNursing practiceNursingEvidence-based practiceEvidence-based medicineEvidence-based nursingBest evidencePsychologyWork (physics)MedicineMEDLINESociologyEngineering ethicsAlternative medicineMedical educationPolitical scienceEngineeringLawPhilosophy
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Publication Info
- Year
- 1998
- Type
- article
- Volume
- 30
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 15-36
- Citations
- 251
- Access
- Closed
External Links
Citation Metrics
251
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Cite This
Carole A. Estabrooks
(1998).
Will evidence-based nursing practice make practice perfect?.
PubMed
, 30
(1)
, 15-36.