| Course | NUR 675 MSN Seminar: Preparation for Practicum |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 4 |
| Paper type | paper comparing evidence-based practice models for a practicum project |
| Length | About 1,010 words, 6 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Southern New Hampshire University |
| Program | MSN |
| Updated | September 2026 |
Free sample paper for NUR 675 Module 4
Choosing an Evidence-Based Practice Model for a Practicum Project: The Iowa Model and the Johns Hopkins Model
[Student Name]
Southern New Hampshire University
NUR 675: MSN Seminar: Preparation for Practicum
Module Four EBP Model Paper
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
Choosing an Evidence-Based Practice Model for a Practicum Project: The Iowa Model and the Johns Hopkins Model
A model for evidence-based practice lends structure to the work of moving from a clinical problem to a change in practice. Students often name a model in a proposal without using it, which leaves the project without the guidance a model can provide. The student in this paper plans a twelve-week falls practicum at the composite Oak Hollow hospital, whose nursing research council has used both the revised Iowa Model and the Johns Hopkins model. This paper compares the two models step by step against the needs of the project and recommends one. It argues that the choice should depend on the project's scope, timeline and need to test and sustain change, and that the chosen model should shape every phase of the practicum.
What Advanced Practice Requires
Melnyk et al. (2014) ran a national consensus process to set out what staff nurses and nurses in advanced roles should each be able to do with evidence. Competencies for advanced practice nurses went beyond those for registered nurses, including systematically searching for and critically appraising evidence, leading teams in implementing practice changes, evaluating outcomes and disseminating results and mentoring others in evidence-based practice. These competencies suggest that an MSN practicum project should not stop at finding and summarizing evidence; it should lead to a change that is implemented, evaluated and shared. A model that supports those later phases will serve the practicum better.
The Revised Iowa Model
The Iowa Model Collaborative (2017) revised and validated the Iowa Model of Evidence-Based Practice through a survey of users. The revised model begins by identifying a triggering issue or opportunity, which may come from clinical data or new evidence, and asking whether it is a priority for the organization. If so, a team is formed, and the team assembles, appraises and synthesizes the body of evidence. If the evidence is sufficient, the team designs and pilots the practice change; if not, the model directs the team to consider research or other sources. After the pilot, the team judges whether the change should become standard practice and, if so, integrates and sustains it, monitoring key indicators and reinfusing the change as needed. Finally, results are disseminated. The model includes decision points that make the team stop and ask whether to proceed, and it explicitly separates piloting from full integration.
The Johns Hopkins Model
Dang et al. (2021) describe the Johns Hopkins evidence-based practice model, which organizes the process into three phases, often summarized as practice question, evidence and translation. In the practice question phase, the team recruits members, defines the problem and develops a focused question, often using the PICO format. In the evidence phase, the team searches for, appraises and summarizes research and nonresearch evidence using the model's appraisal tools and rates its strength and quality. In the translation phase, the team determines whether the evidence supports a change, creates an action plan, implements the change, evaluates outcomes, reports results and identifies next steps. The model's detailed appraisal tools and rating scales are among its strengths, making it especially useful when a team must grade a large and varied body of evidence.
Comparing the Models for This Project
Table 1 compares the models on features that matter for this practicum. Both would work. The Johns Hopkins model offers stronger tools for grading evidence, which would help if the fall prevention literature were the main task. The Iowa Model's explicit pilot step matches the practicum's plan to test one change on nights before recommending adoption, and its integrate and sustain step addresses the handoff to the unit after the practicum ends, which is a major risk for student projects.
Table 1. Comparison of the Revised Iowa and Johns Hopkins Models for a Unit-Level Project
| Feature | Revised Iowa Model | Johns Hopkins model |
|---|---|---|
| Starting point | Triggering issue or opportunity, checked against organizational priority | Practice question developed by the team |
| Evidence appraisal | Assemble, appraise and synthesize, with a decision point on sufficiency | Detailed tools for appraising and rating research and nonresearch evidence |
| Testing change | Explicit pilot step before deciding on adoption | Implementation within the translation phase |
| Sustaining change | Explicit integrate and sustain step with monitoring and reinfusion | Evaluation and next steps within translation |
| Best fit | Unit-level changes needing a pilot and a plan to sustain | Projects requiring rigorous grading of a large evidence base |
Note. Both models are well suited to nursing practice; the comparison reflects the needs of a short, unit-level project.
Recommendation and How the Model Will Guide the Practicum
The student will use the revised Iowa Model. Each of its steps maps to the practicum plan. The triggering issue is the doubled fall rate, confirmed as a priority by the falls committee. The team includes the student, the unit manager, a night-shift nurse, a physical therapist and a pharmacist. Evidence on tailored fall prevention will be assembled and appraised in weeks two through four, using the Johns Hopkins appraisal tools, which the hospital already licenses, for grading individual studies. The pilot will be a single test cycle of the chosen intervention on nights in weeks nine through eleven. The decision about adoption will be made with the manager in week twelve, and the integrate and sustain step will be addressed through a handoff plan that names who will monitor fall rates and process measures after the practicum.
Using the model also changes how the student will communicate with the unit. At each decision point, such as whether the evidence is sufficient or whether the pilot results justify adoption, she will bring a short summary to the team and record the decision and its reasons. This record makes the project transparent to staff and faculty and gives the unit a trail it can follow if it later revisits the decision.
Conclusion
Both the revised Iowa Model and the Johns Hopkins model can guide nursing evidence-based practice. For a twelve-week, unit-level falls project, the Iowa Model's decision points, explicit pilot and emphasis on sustaining change fit best, while the Johns Hopkins appraisal tools can strengthen the evidence phase. Applying the model to every step of the practicum, rather than naming it in the proposal, will help the student meet the advanced competencies expected of MSN-prepared nurses.
References
Dang, D., Dearholt, S. L., Bissett, K., Ascenzi, J., & Whalen, M. (2021). Johns Hopkins evidence-based practice for nurses and healthcare professionals: Model and guidelines (4th ed.). Sigma Theta Tau International.
Iowa Model Collaborative. (2017). Iowa model of evidence-based practice: Revisions and validation. Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing, 14(3), 175-182. https://doi.org/10.1111/wvn.12223
Melnyk, B. M., Gallagher-Ford, L., Long, L. E., & Fineout-Overholt, E. (2014). The establishment of evidence-based practice competencies for practicing registered nurses and advanced practice nurses in real-world clinical settings: Proficiencies to improve healthcare quality, reliability, patient outcomes, and costs. Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing, 11(1), 5-15. https://doi.org/10.1111/wvn.12021
What the NUR 675 Module 4 instructions ask for
EBP model papers in NUR 675 usually ask you to select an evidence-based practice model for your practicum project and justify the choice, sometimes by comparing two models. Expect to describe each model's steps accurately, compare them against your project's needs and explain how the chosen model will guide the work. About four to five pages in APA 7 is typical, often with a comparison table. Describe the models in order rather than in general terms, compare them on features that matter for your scope and timeline, choose one for stated reasons and show how each of its steps maps to a specific phase or week of your practicum. Show how decision points will be documented.
How this NUR 675 Module 4 ebp model paper example is built
This paper compares the revised Iowa Model and the Johns Hopkins model for a composite student's twelve-week falls practicum. Melnyk and colleagues' advanced practice competencies show that the project must go beyond summarizing evidence to implementing and evaluating change. The Iowa Model Collaborative's steps and decision points and the Dang and colleagues description of practice question, evidence and translation are compared in a table. The Iowa Model is chosen for its pilot and sustain steps, with Johns Hopkins appraisal tools borrowed for grading studies, and each step is mapped to practicum weeks and team members. Decisions at each model checkpoint are recorded for the unit.
Where the NUR 675 Module 4 rubric puts the points
Grading of EBP model papers commonly weighs accurate description of models, depth of comparison, the rationale for the choice, application to the project and APA 7 writing. Top-band papers describe the models' steps in order and compare them on features that genuinely matter for the project, such as the need to pilot or sustain change. Graders reward a clear choice with reasons, explicit mapping of the model to project phases and awareness that borrowing tools from another model can be appropriate. Connecting the model to advanced practice competencies shows understanding of what the practicum is meant to achieve. Documenting decisions at model checkpoints adds strength. Plans that address the handoff after the practicum are valued.
NUR 675 Module 4 help: the mistakes that cost points
EBP model papers lose points when models are named without describing their steps, when comparisons rest on general impressions, when the choice is not justified by the project's needs or when the model does not appear in the project plan. Another gap is stopping at evidence appraisal without planning implementation and evaluation. Describe steps in order, compare on relevant features, choose for stated reasons, map steps to your timeline and plan for sustaining change. If your project uses the ACE Star, Stetler or ARCC model, send it with your NUR 675 prompt so the comparison fits. Record each decision and its reasons. Plan the handoff.
Get NUR 675 Module 4 written to your instructions
Share your practicum project, the models you are considering and the NUR 675 grading criteria. The paper you receive will describe each model's steps accurately, compare them against your project's needs and map the chosen model to your timeline, within 24 to 48 hours, free the first time. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Southern New Hampshire University document.
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NUR 675 Module 4 questions, answered
Where can I find a free NUR 675 Module 4 EBP Model Paper sample?
This page carries the full paper: the revised Iowa Model and the Johns Hopkins model compared for a falls practicum, with the chosen model mapped to the timeline.
What are the steps of the revised Iowa Model?
Identify a triggering issue, check priority, form a team, assemble and appraise evidence, pilot the change, decide on adoption, integrate and sustain and disseminate.
What are the phases of the Johns Hopkins EBP model?
Practice question, evidence and translation, with detailed tools for appraising and rating evidence.
Which EBP model is best for an MSN practicum?
It depends on the project; a unit-level change needing a pilot and a plan to sustain may fit the Iowa Model, while a large evidence review may favor Johns Hopkins.
What EBP competencies do advanced practice nurses need?
Melnyk and colleagues identified competencies including appraising evidence, leading implementation, evaluating outcomes, disseminating results and mentoring others.