The Article: Halm, M. (2010). “Inside looking in” or “inside looking out”? How leaders shape cultures equipped for evidence-based practice. American Journal of Critical Care, 19(4): 375-378.

Big Idea: How do we move from research to practice? There are numerous studies about the barriers nurses encounter to implementing evidence-based practices. There is little research, however, about how nurse leaders foster cultures of evidence-based practices. This article examined six studies exploring the relationships between leadership and evidence-based-practice-rich environments.

Survey Says!: Positive leadership behaviors were associated with increased attitudes toward evidence-based practice implementation. Leaders who valued research and evidence-based practice empowered staff to ask questions, search for answers, implement solutions, and evaluate the interventions.

Quotable: “However, beginning evidence links positive leadership – especially transformational behaviors – with research use” (p. 376).

“Until we as leaders agree that research evidence is a key component that influences decision quality, the cultures in our institutions may remain evidence-deprived. And if we remain evidence-deprived, who suffers? Patients. In the United States alone, it has been estimated that 30% to 40% of patients do not receive treatments of proven effectiveness, whereas 20% to 25% receive treatments that are not needed or are potentially harmful [references]” (p. 377).

So What? Every nurse is a leader, and nurses at all levels need education about utilizing research and implementing it into daily nursing practice. Great leaders encourage a culture of evidence-based practice, which optimizes patient care, health outcomes, and institutional finances.