Evidence-Based Practice - 2026 Nursing Primer: Practice Test 1
(Units 1-7) - Questions with Correct Answers
100 questions
1. Clinical reasoning and EBP are related because:
A. They are unrelated
B. EBP replaces reasoning
C. Reasoning ignores evidence
D. Clinical reasoning uses evidence along with assessment data to make patient decisions
Correct Answer: D. Clinical reasoning uses evidence along with assessment data to make
patient decisions
Rationale: Good reasoning incorporates evidence. Both are essential nursing skills.
2. EBP is important for nurses because it:
A. Reduces nurse involvement
B. Replaces clinical judgment
C. Is required only for students
D. Empowers nurses to make informed decisions and improve care
Correct Answer: D. Empowers nurses to make informed decisions and improve care
Rationale: Nurses are well placed to identify practice questions. EBP supports professional
autonomy.
3. Patient outcomes associated with EBP include:
A. Improved quality, safety and outcomes and reduced costs
B. Worse outcomes
C. Higher costs only
D. No measurable change
Correct Answer: A. Improved quality, safety and outcomes and reduced costs
Rationale: Evidence-based care reduces variation. It also improves clinician satisfaction.
,4. Clinical expertise in EBP refers to:
A. The clinician's accumulated knowledge, skills and judgment used to integrate evidence for a
specific patient
B. Years worked only
C. Personal opinion without reflection
D. Following tradition
Correct Answer: A. The clinician's accumulated knowledge, skills and judgment used to
integrate evidence for a specific patient
Rationale: Expertise helps decide whether evidence applies. It is not a substitute for evidence.
5. A culture of EBP is sustained by:
A. One-time workshops only
B. Discouraging questions
C. Restricting resources
D. Ongoing education, mentorship, recognition and integration into policies
Correct Answer: D. Ongoing education, mentorship, recognition and integration into policies
Rationale: Sustained effort embeds EBP. Recognition encourages participation.
6. When evidence is limited or conflicting, nurses should:
A. Do nothing
B. Rely only on tradition
C. Wait for perfect evidence
D. Use the best available evidence, expert consensus and patient preferences while monitoring
outcomes
Correct Answer: D. Use the best available evidence, expert consensus and patient preferences
while monitoring outcomes
Rationale: EBP uses the best available evidence. Monitoring shows whether decisions work.
,7. Practice-based evidence refers to:
A. Evidence from laboratory animals only
B. Evidence generated from data collected in routine practice settings
C. Opinion
D. Textbooks
Correct Answer: B. Evidence generated from data collected in routine practice settings
Rationale: Real-world data complement trials. They reflect diverse patients.
8. The often-cited time lag between research discovery and routine use in practice is about:
A. 17 years
B. 6 months
C. 2 years
D. 50 years
Correct Answer: A. 17 years
Rationale: This gap shows the need for EBP and implementation science. Much research never
reaches practice.
9. EBP mentors are:
A. Administrators who approve budgets
B. Patients
C. Clinicians with EBP knowledge who help others use evidence in practice
D. Librarians only
Correct Answer: C. Clinicians with EBP knowledge who help others use evidence in practice
Rationale: Mentors improve EBP beliefs and implementation. The ARCC model relies on them.
, 10. Archie Cochrane is important to EBP because he:
A. Criticized medicine for not organizing evidence from randomized trials into summaries,
inspiring the Cochrane Collaboration
B. Invented the stethoscope
C. Developed the Iowa Model
D. Wrote the first nursing textbook
Correct Answer: A. Criticized medicine for not organizing evidence from randomized trials into
summaries, inspiring the Cochrane Collaboration
Rationale: The Cochrane Collaboration, now Cochrane, was founded in 1993. It produces
systematic reviews.
11. A nurse who reads a new study suggesting a practice change should first:
A. Change practice immediately
B. Ignore it
C. Tell patients to stop treatment
D. Critically appraise the study and consider the body of evidence before changing practice
Correct Answer: D. Critically appraise the study and consider the body of evidence before
changing practice
Rationale: One study rarely justifies change. Appraisal and synthesis come first.
12. Quality improvement (QI) differs from EBP in that QI:
A. Always produces generalizable knowledge
B. Never uses data
C. Focuses on improving local processes and systems, often using data and tools like PDSA,
rather than first appraising external evidence
D. Is the same as research
Correct Answer: C. Focuses on improving local processes and systems, often using data and
tools like PDSA, rather than first appraising external evidence
Rationale: EBP, QI and research overlap but have different purposes. Many projects combine
EBP and QI methods.
(Units 1-7) - Questions with Correct Answers
100 questions
1. Clinical reasoning and EBP are related because:
A. They are unrelated
B. EBP replaces reasoning
C. Reasoning ignores evidence
D. Clinical reasoning uses evidence along with assessment data to make patient decisions
Correct Answer: D. Clinical reasoning uses evidence along with assessment data to make
patient decisions
Rationale: Good reasoning incorporates evidence. Both are essential nursing skills.
2. EBP is important for nurses because it:
A. Reduces nurse involvement
B. Replaces clinical judgment
C. Is required only for students
D. Empowers nurses to make informed decisions and improve care
Correct Answer: D. Empowers nurses to make informed decisions and improve care
Rationale: Nurses are well placed to identify practice questions. EBP supports professional
autonomy.
3. Patient outcomes associated with EBP include:
A. Improved quality, safety and outcomes and reduced costs
B. Worse outcomes
C. Higher costs only
D. No measurable change
Correct Answer: A. Improved quality, safety and outcomes and reduced costs
Rationale: Evidence-based care reduces variation. It also improves clinician satisfaction.
,4. Clinical expertise in EBP refers to:
A. The clinician's accumulated knowledge, skills and judgment used to integrate evidence for a
specific patient
B. Years worked only
C. Personal opinion without reflection
D. Following tradition
Correct Answer: A. The clinician's accumulated knowledge, skills and judgment used to
integrate evidence for a specific patient
Rationale: Expertise helps decide whether evidence applies. It is not a substitute for evidence.
5. A culture of EBP is sustained by:
A. One-time workshops only
B. Discouraging questions
C. Restricting resources
D. Ongoing education, mentorship, recognition and integration into policies
Correct Answer: D. Ongoing education, mentorship, recognition and integration into policies
Rationale: Sustained effort embeds EBP. Recognition encourages participation.
6. When evidence is limited or conflicting, nurses should:
A. Do nothing
B. Rely only on tradition
C. Wait for perfect evidence
D. Use the best available evidence, expert consensus and patient preferences while monitoring
outcomes
Correct Answer: D. Use the best available evidence, expert consensus and patient preferences
while monitoring outcomes
Rationale: EBP uses the best available evidence. Monitoring shows whether decisions work.
,7. Practice-based evidence refers to:
A. Evidence from laboratory animals only
B. Evidence generated from data collected in routine practice settings
C. Opinion
D. Textbooks
Correct Answer: B. Evidence generated from data collected in routine practice settings
Rationale: Real-world data complement trials. They reflect diverse patients.
8. The often-cited time lag between research discovery and routine use in practice is about:
A. 17 years
B. 6 months
C. 2 years
D. 50 years
Correct Answer: A. 17 years
Rationale: This gap shows the need for EBP and implementation science. Much research never
reaches practice.
9. EBP mentors are:
A. Administrators who approve budgets
B. Patients
C. Clinicians with EBP knowledge who help others use evidence in practice
D. Librarians only
Correct Answer: C. Clinicians with EBP knowledge who help others use evidence in practice
Rationale: Mentors improve EBP beliefs and implementation. The ARCC model relies on them.
, 10. Archie Cochrane is important to EBP because he:
A. Criticized medicine for not organizing evidence from randomized trials into summaries,
inspiring the Cochrane Collaboration
B. Invented the stethoscope
C. Developed the Iowa Model
D. Wrote the first nursing textbook
Correct Answer: A. Criticized medicine for not organizing evidence from randomized trials into
summaries, inspiring the Cochrane Collaboration
Rationale: The Cochrane Collaboration, now Cochrane, was founded in 1993. It produces
systematic reviews.
11. A nurse who reads a new study suggesting a practice change should first:
A. Change practice immediately
B. Ignore it
C. Tell patients to stop treatment
D. Critically appraise the study and consider the body of evidence before changing practice
Correct Answer: D. Critically appraise the study and consider the body of evidence before
changing practice
Rationale: One study rarely justifies change. Appraisal and synthesis come first.
12. Quality improvement (QI) differs from EBP in that QI:
A. Always produces generalizable knowledge
B. Never uses data
C. Focuses on improving local processes and systems, often using data and tools like PDSA,
rather than first appraising external evidence
D. Is the same as research
Correct Answer: C. Focuses on improving local processes and systems, often using data and
tools like PDSA, rather than first appraising external evidence
Rationale: EBP, QI and research overlap but have different purposes. Many projects combine
EBP and QI methods.
