Project mentorship, nursing leadership, and evidence-based practice integration

¶ … Strategic Points for a Project

Mentorship in Nursing Leadership and the Effects of Evidence-Based Practice: An Integrated Literature Review.

Background of the problem/gap;

The integration of evidence-based into clinical practice in relation to knowledge derived from research has been a complicated process despite the increased interest in evidence-based practice (Sandstrom et al., 2011).

Recent literature in relation to supervision of nurses indicates that nurses value mentorship opportunities because they help in developing practice (Andrews & Wallis, 1999).

While integration of evidence-based practice into clinical nursing practice helps in enhancing the quality of nursing care, nurse managers and administrators' behaviors play a crucial role in this integration process (Gifford et al., 2007).

Even though many studies have been centered on the obstacles and facilitators to integrating evidence-based practice, these researchers are not linked explicitly to frameworks for continuous quality improvement (Solomons & Spross, 2011).

b. Theoretical foundations (models and theories to be foundation for study);

1. Transformational leadership model (Hutchinson & Jackson, 2013).

2. Managerial leadership model (Gifford et al., 2007).

3. Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) framework (Solomons & Spross, 2011).

c. Review of literature topics with key themes for each one;

1. Role of leadership in implementation of evidence-based practice: Leadership influences the process of implementing evidence-based practice into clinical nursing practice (Sandstrom et al., 2011).

2. Transformational Leadership: Transformational leadership framework provides the basis for effective mentoring of nurses towards adoption of evidence-based practice to enhance patient outcomes and improve the workplace (Hutchinson & Jackson, 2013).

3. Mentorship in Nursing: Nurses value mentorship opportunities because they help in developing practice. There is need to shift from supervision of nursing students in practice settings to qualified nurses in practice settings (Andrews & Wallis, 1999).

4. Managerial Leadership for Nurses' Adoption of EBP: The leadership behaviors of nurse administrators and managers are essential towards implementation of evidence-based practice and improving quality of care (Gifford et al., 2007).

5. Barriers and Facilitators of Evidence-based Practice: Individuals and institutions are the causes of barriers and facilitators of implementing evidence-based practice (Solomons & Spross, 2011).

d. Summary

1. Gap/problem: There is need to integrate evidence-based practice into mentorship in nursing leadership.

2. Prior studies: Prior studies show that evidence-based practice is crucial towards enhancing the quality of care and therefore vital in mentorship in nursing leadership.

3. Implementation of evidence-based practice in mentorship requires suitable leadership behaviors and establishment of appropriate practice settings.

3. Problem statement -- It is not known if evidence-based practice affects mentorship in nursing leadership in clinical nursing practice settings.

4. Sample and location

a. Location: Electronic databases i.e. EBSCOHost, Pro-Quest, CINAHL, Medline, Academic Search Premier, and Psych Info.

b. Population: Since this is a qualitative study, there is no population because the research will be carried out on existing studies.

c. Sample: A minimum of 30 studies will be reviewed or analyzed.

5. Questions

a. R1: What is the effect of evidence-based practice on the process of mentoring nurse leaders?

b. R3: What is the relationship between leadership behaviors and implementation of evidence-based practice in mentorship in nursing?

6. Hypothesis/variables or Phenomena -- The phenomena to be better understood is how the implementation of evidence-based practice affects mentorship of nurse leaders in the clinical setting. This analysis is carried out based on the growing interest in evidence-based practice and the increased significance of mentorship in enhancing the effectiveness of nursing.

7. Methodology and design -- A search of electronic databases for studies on mentorship in nursing leadership with regards to evidence-based practice will be conducted. In this process, the study will employ a qualitative content analysis research methodology to sift, screen and analyze identified studies in order to detect themes and patterns relating to the topic.