ABSTRACT
Evidence-based medicine as defined by the Institute of Medicine is “the integration of best researched evidence and clinical expertise with patient values” (IOM 2001, p. 147). The medical field desires to achieve a point in which clinical practice is based upon the findings of empirical research; however, this is only a recently developed goal. Claridge and Fabian (2005) report in their article describing the history of evidence-based medicine that this term only came into existence in the 1990s. Several studies have documented that a large majority of clinical decision-making is not typically based in findings from evidence-based research but on tacit knowledge (Carter, 1996; Claridge & Fabian, 2005; Pryjmachuk, 1996). Pryjmachuk (1996) suggests that although nurses may be familiar with theory, they lack an understanding of the importance of its application in practice. In her review of literature citing barriers to the implementation of research findings in practice, Carter (1996) discusses evidence that implies that much of nursing practice is based on ritual rather than empirical evidence. One of the critical obstacles in supporting the use of research findings into practice is the ability to translate results into the application of clinical practice (Rosen, 2000). This is evident not only among medical clinicians but in the field of social work in healthcare as well.
