What is it about?

The Modified Fresno Exam was adapted for nursing by a panel of acute care nursing experts. The exam was then administered to nurses with varying degrees of expertise in using evidence in their practice. Exam scores from the study participants were used in statistical testing to evaluate the Modified Fresno Exam’s reliability in measuring such knowledge. Eight of the 14 exam items performed well by statistical standards. The remaining six items are in the process of being revised with a panel of evidence-based practice nurse experts. Once revised the exam will be readminstered to a new sample of acute care nurses to evaluate the exam’s reliability.

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Why is it important?

Most instruments available that assess nurses knowledge of using evidence in their practice are based on self-report which is extremely prone to bias. The Modified Fresno is a performance-based cognitive exam that provides an objective assessment of nurse’s knowledge of using evidence in their practice. Once validated, this exam can provide educators, researchers and nurse leaders with a valid and reliable method of assessing the effectiveness of educational offerings focused on increasing evidence-based practice knowledge and skills of nurses.

Perspectives

Instruments like the Fresno Exam will assist our profession in gauging how well we are progressing our nursing workforce toward the Institute of Medicine’s 2020 goal that 90% of clinical decisions will be based on the best available evidence.

Nurse Scientist Consultant Margo Halm
VA Portland Health Care System

Read the Original

This page is a summary of: Evaluating the Impact of EBP Education: Development of a Modified Fresno Test for Acute Care Nursing, Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing, May 2018, Wiley,
DOI: 10.1111/wvn.12291.
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