Evidence-based practice education for healthcare professions: an expert view

TLDR

Evidence‑based practice is globally recognized as essential in health professional education, yet achieving competency is complex and disparities between ideal and actual care persist, making effective curriculum development a pressing challenge. The study sought to capture international expert perspectives on EBP education by interviewing five specialists from the UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Interviews were conducted with these five experts to explore their views on EBP curriculum, teaching, and stakeholder engagement. Experts offered concrete guidance on curriculum design, teaching methods, and stakeholder involvement, concluding that embedding EBP requires a pragmatic, real‑world approach that fosters dialogue among all stakeholders.

Abstract

Internationally, evidence-based practice (EBP) is recognised as a foundational element of healthcare professional education. Achieving competency in this area is a complex undertaking that is reflected in disparities between ‘best EBP’ and actual clinical care. The effective development and implementation of professional education to facilitate EBP remains a major and immediate challenge. To ascertain nuanced perspectives on the provision of EBP education internationally, interviews were conducted with five EBP education experts from the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Definitive advice was provided in relation to (1) EBP curriculum considerations, (2) teaching EBP and (3) stakeholder engagement in EBP education. While a considerable amount of EBP activity throughout health profession education is apparent, effectively embedding EBP throughout curricula requires further development, with a ‘real-world’ pragmatic approach that engenders dialogue and engagement with all stakeholders required.