The development of a framework for promoting students' Evidence-Based Practice capabilities during clinical placements

Evidence-based practice (EBP) in health contexts is best understood as a client-centred, question-in-context driven process of evidence collection, collaboration, and critical reasoning to facilitate defensible healthcare decisions. In response to an identified lack of practical guidance tailored to students and clinical placement supervisors, the aim of this study was to develop EBP learning and assessment resources for use during clinical placements. The primary purpose was to assist supervisors to facilitate and assess EBP as part of their supervision of students on clinical placements, cognisant of (a) the already heavy demands on placement supervisors’ time and (b) the need to ensure that our assumptions were realistic from the perspective of relevant stakeholder groups. This paper describes the process of generating the draft resources, the subsequent formative evaluation undertaken with stakeholder groups, and the resultant further development of the resources. Respectful collaboration with health academics, placement-experienced students, and placement supervisors during this development phase has resulted in user-friendly resources freely accessible online, including a poster and a booklet. These resources promise to be helpful in facilitating a shared understanding between academics, students, and supervisors about the principles and processes involved in high-quality EBP. Improved cooperation between academics, students, and supervisors will optimise EBP learning during clinical placements and, ultimately, enhance the quality of future graduates’ healthcare practice. Impact evaluation of the final resources is planned.