To encourage nurses to expand their knowledge and better help their patients, NorthBay’s first Evidence-based Practice Fellowship program was launched.

The one-year course is designed to develop clinical, leadership, problem-solving and research utilization skills through an intensive mentorship program, according to founder Elisa Jang, R.N., M.S., C.N.S., a clinical practice manager in critical care services. The program will begin in January with four fellowship positions.

For the first six months, fellowship students will attend nursing research classes, learning how to read and review research and how to use Web resources to find evidence-based material. During the second half of the year, nurses will implement a practice change in their department based on what they’ve learned through research.

“Nursing is more of a science than ever before,” Jang says. “We are encouraging our nurses to use evidence in their practice, rather than doing things ‘because that’s how we’ve always done it.'”

At the end of the year, the fellowship program will host an Evidence-based Practice Conference where each fellow will present their research study and discuss how change was implemented in their department.

“Research fellowships are usually found in university and teaching hospitals,” Jang explains. “It’s very innovative for a community hospital
to sponsor such a program. We want NorthBay to become local leaders in evidence-based practice.”

The nurses chosen for the fellowship will be announced in late November.