Nurse Executives' Perceptions of the Executive Training for Research Application (EXTRA) Program

Background: To improve the overall quality and effectiveness of the Canadian health care system through better decisions supported by research-based evidence (RBE), the Canadian Health Services Research Foundation (CHSRF) and partners have created the Executive Training for Research Application (EXTRA) program. Objectives: To evaluate how nurse executive fellows perceive changes in their levels of knowledge of RBE and in their level of use of RBE following participation in the EXTRA program. Methods: Nurse executives in the first four cohorts of the program (20042007) completed a survey during their 2-year fellowship period. Results: Statistically significant improvements were observed regarding nurse executives perceived knowledge and use of RBE. According to the participants, the EXTRA fellowship contributes to their role and function in their organization by providing tools, learning, and access to resources and networking, which contributes to their credibility, leadership, and knowledge transfer skills. Conclusions: The EXTRA program has been structured to reduce barriers and to enhance the facilitators found in the literature on the implementation of evidence-based practices (EBP) in health care settings. Overall, nurse executives perceived that the benefits of participating in the EXTRA program were both individual and organizational.