Leveling EBP Content for Undergraduate Nursing Students

Integration of evidence into practice is an essential outcome for baccalaureate nursing students in this era of health care reform. Cultivation of a spirit of inquiry and appreciation for the role of evidence in shaping nursing practice is central to the development of requisite knowledge and skills. A baccalaureate nursing program curricular redesign placed a higher emphasis on evidence-based practice. The evidence-based practice focus of the undergraduate curriculum is a sequence of 3 undergraduate research courses designed to prepare the graduate to identify, locate, read, and critically appraise evidence at the individual study, systematic review, and clinical practice guideline levels. This curriculum lays the foundation for evidence-based practice in the clinical arena and in graduate nursing programs.