Ensuring consistency among evidence-based practice interventions.

Evidence-based practice (EBP) has and will continue to be the mainstay among clinicians in applying interventions to practice. Sackett, Rosenberg, Gray, Haynes, and Richardson (1996) defined EBP as the conscientious, explicit, and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients. Sackett et al. continued to describe EBP as integrating individual clinical expertise with the best available external clinical evidence from systematic research. The Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) offers a valuable resource with the EBP Resource Area (www.ons.org/ evidence). ONS (n.d.) also provides nurses with a guideline of minimum standards to assist healthcare professionals in systematically reviewing related research. EBP provides a basis for decision making and individualized patient care, thereby enhancing the efficiency of clinics and hospitals, revenue reimbursement, and the quality of patient care (Maxwell & Stein, 2006). EBP consistently impacts the quality of care for patients in a positive manner and has become a top priority for healthcare providers.