39279 - Evidence-Based Nursing Practice (RN)

Learning outcomes

By the end of the lessons, students will have acquired essential knowledge related to good clinical practices within independent processes and/or multidisciplinary teams. They will also be familiar with the methodology for accessing Evidence-Based information that guides good clinical practice.

Course contents

• Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) and Evidence-Based Nursing (EBN): Principles, methods, tools, and phases of the process
• The pyramid of evidence
• Primary sources: Randomized controlled trial (RCT)
• Secondary sources: Systematic reviews and guidelines
• Formulating the research question: The PICO model
• Main databases for scientific literature: MEDLINE/PubMed, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, JBI, Scopus, Web of Science, TRIP database, UpToDate, ILISI
• Literature search on PubMed: Strategies and tools
• Transfer and integration of scientific evidence into clinical practice

Readings/Bibliography

• Chiari, P., Mosci, D., Naldi, E., & Centro Studi EBN (2011). Evidence-based clinical practice: La pratica clinico-assistenziale basata su prove di efficacia (2. ed.). Milano: McGraw-Hill.
• Polit, D.F., & Tatano Beck, C. (2014). Fondamenti di ricerca infermieristica. Milano: McGraw Hill.

Further bibliographical references will be provided during the lessons

Teaching methods

The course is divided into lectures and practical exercises in the classroom, individually and in small groups. These exercises aim to transform a clinical care problem into one or more questions to be searched in the scientific literature by querying the main nursing databases.

Assessment methods

The course assessment consists of:

• Mandatory oral examination, with a maximum score of 25 points.
• Optional mid-term written assignment, with the possibility of obtaining up to 5 additional points.

The optional mid-term written assignment is designed to assess the intermediate acquisition of competencies and, if completed, allows students to integrate their oral examination score up to a maximum final grade of 30/30.

Students who do not complete the written assignment may still obtain the maximum score of 30/30 through a more comprehensive oral examination, which will also include the assessment of bibliographic research skills.

Oral Examination. The purpose of the oral examination is to assess the student’s ability to apply acquired theoretical knowledge and to establish logical-deductive connections. During the oral examination, each student will provide a concise presentation of the selected article. In addition, students will be required to answer a second question concerning one of the theoretical topics covered during the course.

Grading Criteria:

• 25 → Substantially comprehensive preparation on the course topics; ability to independently conduct critical analysis and establish connections; full mastery of specific terminology; strong argumentation and self-reflection skills.
• 22–24 → Good preparation on a broad range of course topics; ability to conduct independent critical analysis; appropriate use of specific terminology.
• 19–21 → Preparation on a limited number of course topics; ability to conduct independent analysis only on limited issues; generally correct language use.
• 18 → Preparation on a very limited number of course topics; analytical ability emerges only with the lecturer’s guidance; overall acceptable language use.
• < 18 → Insufficient preparation on the main course topics; inappropriate or incorrect language use.

Mid-term Written Assignment. Students, organized in groups of five, will be invited to complete an optional written assignment following the format provided by the lecturer.

The format includes:

• Formulating a research question on a topic of choice using the PICO model;
• Conducting a bibliographic search on PubMed;
• Selecting a review article;
• Analyzing the fundamental contents of the selected article.

The written assignment must be submitted by email to the lecturer at least one week before the examination date.

Evaluation Criteria for the Mid-term Written Assignment (Maximum 5 Points):

• 5 points → Correct and complete formulation of the research question according to the PICO model; structured and coherent bibliographic search on PubMed; appropriate article selection; in-depth critical analysis of the main contents.
• 4 points → Well-formulated PICO question; adequate bibliographic search; relevant article; correct analysis.
• 3 points → Sufficiently coherent but not fully structured research question; essential bibliographic search; overall relevant article; predominantly descriptive analysis.
• 2 points → Poorly focused or partially structured research question; limited bibliographic search; article selection not fully consistent with the research question.
• 1 point → Imprecisely formulated research question; unstructured bibliographic search; poorly relevant article; very limited analysis.
• 0 points → Failure to comply with the required format or submission of a seriously inadequate assignment.

The integrated exam is considered passed if the student achieves a final grade equal to or higher than 18 also in the remaining modules.

Students with learning disorders and\or temporary or permanent disabilities: please, contact the office responsible (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students) as soon as possible so that they can propose acceptable adjustments. The request for adaptation must be submitted in advance (15 days before the exam date) to the lecturer, who will assess the appropriateness of the adjustments, taking into account the teaching objectives.

Teaching tools

The lessons will be carried out through the use of the main technological tools (PowerPoint) together with the connection to databases via Proxi Unibo.

Office hours

See the website of Valentina Biagioli