Concern about overlooking the patient’s values and preferences in the early definition of EBM by Evidence-Based Medicine Working Group (1992) prompted nursing to adopt a definition similar to those written by Sackett et al. (1996) and the Joanna Briggs Institute. In 2000, Ingersoll articulated the following definition of EBP for nursing:

• Evidence-based nursing practice is the conscientious, explicit, and judicious use of theory-derived, research-based information in making decisions about care delivery to individuals or groups of patients and in consideration of individual needs and preferences. ( Ingersoll, 2000, p. 154).

Unique to this EBP definition was the inclusion of the use of theory as well as evidence when making clinical practice decisions. Leaders in nursing believed that theory and clinical research should be the basis for evidence-based nursing instead of ritual, isolated, and unsystematic clinical experiences, ungrounded opinion, and tradition (Fain, 2014; Ingersoll, 2000). The goal of EBP is to promote effective nursing practice, efficient care, and improved outcomes for patients, and to provide the best available evidence for clinical, administrative, and educational decision making (Newhouse, Dearholt, Poe, Pugh, & White, 2007). Key assumptions of EBP in nursing practice include:

• Nursing is both a science and an applied profession.
• Knowledge is important to professional practice, and there are limits to knowledge that must be identified.
• Not all evidence is created equal, and there is a need to use the best available evidence.
• Evidence-based practice contributes to improved outcomes.