NICU Nurse Residents: Evidence-Based Practice Projects

As conventional nursing programs prepare students to provide safe, competent care for the typical adult medical/surgical patient, it is necessary for new graduate nurses to apply for nurse residency programs for on-to-job intensive training for a unique specialty such as surgery, pediatrics, or neonatal intensive care.(1-3) Although not the norm for all nurse residency programs, some require residents to complete an evidence-based practice (EBP) project.(4) EBP projects are a newer, very valuable component of residency programs that facilitate practice change and positively impact unit goals and metrics. When EBP projects become an expectation of a new nurse residency program, both the unit and the resident benefit in numerous ways. With EBP project process and expectation changes, just like within EBP in general, constant reevaluation is necessary to further improve the experience and outcomes for all stakeholders involved.