Educating Nursing Staff in Evidence-based Practice: a Process Improvement, Development and Implementation of a Preadmission Clinic

An evidence-based practice (EBP) education project was developed and implemented to create a preadmission clinic in the surgical services department of a small rural hospital. The project objectives were to (a) improve patient satisfaction, (b) reduce overtime hours in the same-day surgical area, and (c) increase the use of EBP. A literature review was first used to support the need for EBP education and to identify best practices. Next, an educational presentation on the development and implementation of a preadmission clinic was created for volunteer nurse participants. At the time of the presentation, 20 participants were surveyed for the presentation’s effectiveness preand postpresentation. In addition, 938 patients were surveyed to gauge the satisfaction of the preadmission process for three months before and three months after implementation of the preadmission clinic. In addition, data concerning overtime hours were obtained preand postintervention. The results showed a 100% increase in the use of EBP, a 64% increase in patient satisfaction with the preadmission process, and an 88% reduction in overtime hours in the same day surgery area.