title: Use of oral examinations to teach concepts of evidence-based practice to nurse practitioner students.
abstract: Evidence-based practice has become part of nurse practitioner education. One innovative approach to teaching and evaluating evidence-based practice is the implementation of oral examinations, in which students orally present their review of a research article. Prior to the examination, students are given a research article to critique and can prepare for the examination using their notes and textbooks. At a scheduled time, they meet with a faculty member to respond to both predetermined and unexpected questions requiring critique of the research and thorough explanation of how it will (or will not) influence their practice. Although this approach may produce anxiety in students, it provides another way to evaluate students' ability to communicate about a complex topic and is an excellent complementary evaluation method to other approaches, such as case studies or written examinations.
authors.affiliation: Fay W. Whitney School of Nursing, Department of 3065, University of Wyoming, Laramie 82071, USA. mburman@uwyo.edu
authors.forename: Mary E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Burman
authors.forename: Ann Marie
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Hart
authors.forename: Julie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: Pat
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sherard
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D004511:Education, Nursing, Graduate / Q000379:methods*; D004521:Educational Measurement / Q000379:methods*; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine / Q000193:education*; D006801:Humans; D009722:Nurse Practitioners / Q000193:education* / Q000523:psychology; D015402:Nursing Education Research; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D015399:Nursing Research / Q000193:education*; D011361:Professional Competence; D012107:Research Design; D020377:Self Efficacy; D013060:Speech; D013663:Teaching / Q000379:methods*; D013850:Thinking