DEVELOPING THE SKILLS REQUIRED FOR EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICE

The current health care environment. requires practitioners with the s kills to find and apply the best currently available evidence for effe ctive health care, to contribute to the development of evidence-based practice protocols, and to evaluate the impact of utilizing validated research findings in practice. Current approaches to teaching research are based mainly on gaining skills by participation in the research p rocess. Emphasis on the requirement for rigour in the process of creat ing new knowledge is assumed to lead to skill in the process of using research information created by others. This article reflects upon the requirements for evidence-based practice, and the degree to which cur rent approaches to teaching research prepare practitioners who are abl e to find, evaluate and best use currently available research informat ion. The potential for using the principles of systematic review as a teaching and learning strategy for research is explored, and some of t he possible strengths and weaknesses of this approach are highlighted.