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UVA Office of Nursing Research held its 2024 Evidence-Based Practice (EPB) Symposium on May 6 — the first day of Nurses Week — at North Fork Research Park in Charlottesville. EPB incorporates research into clinical practice — giving UVA Health nurses an opportunity to conduct research, publish and present work, contribute to nursing practice, and elevate patient care.

UVA Health Nurse Scientist and UVA School of Nursing Associate Professor Pam DeGuzman, PhD, MBA, RN, CNL, led the symposium. Her program of research in improving access to healthcare for vulnerable populations includes more than 40 academic journal research studies.

DeGuzman is recognized as a national expert in studying implementation of telemedicine in rural public libraries and passionate about developing innovative ways to transform patient care and involving point-of-care nurses in the development and implementation of novel approaches.

The EBP Symposium, sponsored by the Nursing Professional Governance Organization, identified the importance of a systematic approach to EBP to help participants elevate patient care. Other presenters included (above, from left) Claiborne Miller-Davis, MS, BA, BSN, RN-BC, Nurse Research Coordinator; Kate Joshua, MLIS, Clinical Librarian; Nikki McLamb, BSN, RN, CCRN, TCRN, RN; and Ty Ashworth, BSN, RN, CMSRN.

Participants gained and refreshed EBP skills such as:

• Writing a clinical question using the patient/population, intervention, comparison, and outcomes (PICO) format.
• Applying inclusion criteria to literature to determine the applicability of a study for an EBP project. 
• Using Johns Hopkins Appendix E to appraise a research article. 
• Understanding the importance of literature synthesis in the EBP project. 

Frontline nurses also presented posters on EBP projects leading to critical practice changes and better patient outcomes. For more information on EBP at UVA Health University Medical Center, view Office of Nursing Research.

See the photo gallery: