Purpose:

This paper describes a required capstone course for all advanced practice students (Nurse Practitioners, Clinical Specialists in Adult, Family and Psychiatric/Mental Health concentrations) in evidence-based clinical research.

Significance:

Clinical specialists must utilize evidence-based findings as part of clinical decision making, and yet, students often lack the skills needed to close the gap between finding evidence and utilizing it in clinical practice. This requires the ability to carefully evaluate the literature and develop self-learning skills.

Background/Design:

Preparing clinicians who can evaluate clinical guidelines and create policies that keep abreast of current evidence is an important mandate for graduate nursing education today. Issues of geographic variation, cost containment, and patient values and preference are import variables to be considered before recommending one intervention over another.

Methods:

The author will outline the method of instruction, provide examples of projects created and disseminated by students from past semesters, and discuss experiences from the past 4 years. A unique component of the course is the peer group/support which will be explored.

Findings:

Advanced Practice nurses must be able to efficiently sift through the glut of information in order to decide what is valid and useful for their patients and their practice.

Conclusions:

Teaching evidence-based research in a creative way can both provide knowledge to students and pave the way for future utilization of clinical research during their career once in practice.

Implications for Practice:

Clinical specialist students need to be offered an alternative to the traditional thesis in order to prepare for their practice reality.