Evidence-based practice in a small community hospital: A beginning

Evidence-based practice (EBP) immediately conjures up the use of research-based findings or related guidelines. This connotation, of course, is an essential part of best practice, but there is more to the evidence in EBP than research;1, 2, 3 and 4 an additional or internal type of evidence also can be used to help achieve the goal of best practice. This evidence consists of locally collected assessment, planning, quality, and evaluation data, as will be illustrated with the example of Cooley Dickinson Hospital (CDH).