BUSI 418 Week 7 Discussion Board Forum 8 Example

Discussion Board Forum 8: Sustaining Evidence-Based Practice in an Organization

BUSI 418 Research and Evidence Based Practice in Healthcare, Discussion Board Forum 8

Thread by [Student Name]

The health system, its council and the classmates are composites; the textbook, Scripture and the peer-reviewed articles cited are real.

Over three years, our health system completed three evidence-based projects that worked: earlier mobility after surgery, a pressure injury bundle and a pain reassessment checklist. Each improved its measure for a few months, and each faded within a year. When we traced the history, every project rested on the same nurse educator, who searched the literature, trained the staff and checked the results. When she accepted a job elsewhere, no one owned the practices, and the units slipped back to old habits. In the textbook's view, evidence-based practice is something an organization builds into its routines rather than a personal hobby of a few enthusiasts, and building it is a leadership job (Hall & Roussel, 2017).

Research suggests what we lacked. Chignolli et al. (2026) describe a shared governance council at a large academic medical center that spent a year on fall prevention, with members working in small mentored groups to write a question, search and appraise the literature and synthesize findings. The work produced a formal change in the hospital's fall prevention policy, and the authors recommend protected time, mentorship and ties to strategic priorities so that councils can continue. A controlled study tested a mentor nurse training program of about 19 hours, mostly face to face, against a group that received nothing and found significant gains in evidence-based practice knowledge and competency, along with stronger coaching and role modeling skills (Koçak et al., 2025). Those mentoring skills matter because a mentor is the person who keeps answering questions after the project team disbands.

For our system, I would propose three commitments. First, a standing council of frontline nurses with four protected hours a month, charged with choosing one practice question each year. Second, a trained mentor on every unit, so that knowledge does not leave with a single educator. Third, a quarterly review of each completed project's measure, so that slipping results are noticed while there is still time to act. A practice that depends on one person is a favor; a practice built into structure is a habit.

Paul urged believers not to tire of doing good, since the harvest comes in its season to those who persist (English Standard Version Bible, 2001/2016, Galatians 6:9). Sustained change is slower and less exciting than a launch, and leaders must value it accordingly.

Reply to Danielle

Danielle, you suggested pursuing a formal designation such as Pathway to Excellence as a way to keep evidence-based practice on leaders' agendas. There is some support for that idea. Connell et al. (2026) reviewed eight observational studies in the United States and found that designation, or closer alignment with the program's standards, was associated with better work environments, lower burnout and intent to leave and stronger engagement in evidence-based practice. Because those studies were observational, however, it is hard to say whether designation builds a strong culture or strong cultures seek designation. Chays-Amania et al. (2025) found that implementation outcomes are often not measured consistently, which suggests your hospital should define its own measures rather than rely on the designation alone. Hall and Roussel (2017) remind leaders that structures matter only when they change daily practice. When Nehemiah's builders worked with a whole heart, the wall rose (English Standard Version Bible, 2001/2016, Nehemiah 4:6). Would designation give your staff that shared purpose, or mainly give leaders a plaque? If you pursue it, I would track one or two practice measures alongside the application so the effort shows up at the bedside.

Reply to Andre

Andre, you described units where nurses follow protocols carefully but rarely question them, and you wondered whether evidence-based practice can take hold there. Nguyen and Jumpamool (2026) found something similar in an ethnographic study of 30 nurses at a tertiary hospital, where a compliance culture, task-centered routines and rigid hierarchies kept nurses relying on experience and peers rather than research. The authors call for management support and education at several levels at once. One practical step comes from a controlled trial of mentor training, in which nurses trained in both evidence-based practice and coaching improved their competence and their ability to guide others (Koçak et al., 2025). A mentor like that could give your units a trusted colleague who invites questions without making anyone feel accused of doing something wrong. Hall and Roussel (2017) note that inquiry grows where leaders reward it. Proverbs observes that a person skilled in their work will stand before kings (English Standard Version Bible, 2001/2016, Proverbs 22:29), and skill includes knowing why a protocol exists. Could your managers begin by asking at each huddle what evidence lies behind one routine practice?

References

Chays-Amania, A., Schwingrouber, J., Melnyk, B. M., Haller, P. H., Soler, J., & Colson, S. (2025). Mapping implementation strategies and outcomes when using evidence based practice implementation models in nursing settings: A scoping review. Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing, 22(3), e70050. https://doi.org/10.1111/wvn.70050

Chignolli, H., Frank-Scott, C., Gibson, J., Ring, L., Stromberg, K., & Zellefrow, C. (2026). Empowering nurses through shared governance: A council-led evidence-based initiative driving practice and policy advancement. Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing, 23(4), e70147. https://doi.org/10.1111/wvn.70147

Connell, K. A., George, N., Yu, H., & McHugh, M. D. (2026). Associations between the Pathway to Excellence framework and nurse, patient, and organizational outcomes: A systematic review. Nursing, 56(9), 30-38. https://doi.org/10.1097/NSG.0000000000000460

English Standard Version Bible. (2016). Crossway. (Original work published 2001)

Hall, H. R., & Roussel, L. A. (2017). Evidence-based practice: An integrative approach to research, administration, and practice (2nd ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Koçak, V., Arslan, S., & Aldem Budak, M. (2025). Effectiveness of evidence-based practice-based mentor nurse training program: A quasi-experimental controlled study design. Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing, 22(4), e70069. https://doi.org/10.1111/wvn.70069

Nguyen, D. V., & Jumpamool, A. (2026). Strengthening evidence-based practice culture in nursing: An ethnographic study in the central highlands of Vietnam. Belitung Nursing Journal, 12(4), 472-484. https://doi.org/10.33546/bnj.4567