Definitions of evidence based nursing have varied in scholarly literature. Scott & McSherry's extensive literature review looked at commonalities between EBN definitions and synthesized them to come up with the following definition:
"An ongoing process by which evidence, nursing theory, and the practitioners’ clinical expertise are critically evaluated and considered, in conjunction with patient involvement, to provide delivery of optimum nursing care for the individual."
Scott, K. & McSherry, R. "Evidence Based Nursing: clarifying the concepts for nurses in practice." Journal of Clinical Nursing 2009; 18(8): 1085-95.
From the EBN Guide, UNC Health Sciences Library; Image from: http://qsen-evidencebasedpractice.wikispaces.com/file/view/ebp.gif/220328596/246x222/ebp.gif
Many people believe that everything is now available on the Web, for free to everyone. This just isn't so.
The credibility of health information on the Web can be questionable.
Searching the web through general search engines like Google and Bing can be overwhelming and time consuming.
As professionals you will want to use bibliographic databases such as PubMed (MEDLINE) to keep current with the research literature.
How the Library Can Help
While some web-based resources are free, many quality resources, such as the indexes, databases, journals, and textbooks that you need to do your job have a cost associated with them. Libraries provide access to many online resources, by paying subscription fees to publishers and vendors with the understanding that their library users can access this information from within the library, on campus, and sometimes from off-campus computers as well through proxy access.
Adapted from the EBN Guide, UNC Health Sciences Library
