School of Nursing & Midwifery Annual Report 2018

Catherine McAuley School of Nursing and Midwifery, UCC

Teaching Evidence Based Practice to Health Care Professionals in Ireland and the development of a competency framework for clinical effectiveness education Project commissioned by the National Patient Safety Office, Department of Health Ireland.

The Story: Evidence Based Practice is a cornerstone of delivering clinically effective care for improved patient/service user outcomes and is increasingly recognised as a foundation for healthcare education across disciplines and international borders. The acquisition of EBP and clinical effectiveness competencies begins during an individual’s professional training. To this end, healthcare education programmes must design curricula that target these competencies. In Ireland these competencies are nascent and require development. Our interprofessional research team conducted a multi- phase project which involved the completion of 2 structured reviews on EBP & clinical effectiveness education, individual interviews with experts in EBP teaching from the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand and 13 focus groups with national stakeholders involved in the education, professional training and regulation of 14 healthcare professions. We determined the national baseline data on the current provision of EBP education in Ireland and developed the first international competency framework for clinical effectiveness education. The research team have disseminated this work through the Department of Health website and information forums, national and international conferences, peer review publications and professional networking forums to optimise awareness and application of this research into educational practice. Specifically, the framework assists educators in

designing and reviewing curricular content in relation to clinical effectiveness competencies in both academic and clinical settings. The ultimate translational aim is to embed a clinical effectiveness culture within healthcare services in Ireland to promote high quality and safe care.

The Team: Dr Elaine Lehane (Lead Researcher)

EBP Team: Dr. Clíona O’Riordan, Dr. Patricia Leahy Warren, Professor Eileen Savage, Professor Jonathan Drennan, Dr. Colm O’Tuathaigh, Dr. Michael O’Connor, Professor Mark Corrigan, Dr. Francis Burke, Dr. Martina Hayes, Dr. Helen Lynch, Dr. Laura Sahm, Dr. Elizabeth Heffernan, Ms. Elizabeth O’Keeffe, Dr. Catherine Blake, Professor Frances Horgan, Professor Josephine Hegarty Clinical Effectiveness Team: Dr Heloise Agreli, Ms Simone O’Connor, Professor Josephine Hegarty, Dr Patricia Leahy- Warren, Dr Deirdre Bennett, Professor Catherine Blake, Dr Francis Burke, Professor Mark Corrigan, Professor Jonathan Drennan, Dr Martina Hayes, Dr Elizabeth Heffernan, Professor Frances Horgan, Dr Helen Lynch, Dr Joseph McVeigh, Professor Nicole Müller, Ms. Elizabeth O’Keeffe, Dr Colm O’Tuathaigh, Dr Laura Sahm, Professor Eileen Savage.

28

CONTENTS

BACK

FORWARD