Clinician-implemented research utilization in critical care.

The application of research findings to practice is critical for improving patients' outcomes and for ensuring that nursing practice is both cost-efficient and effective. Unfortunately, research findings that clearly should be used are not always implemented, a fact termed the "research-practice gap." In 2000, as a result of the interest of staff nurses in establishing evidence-based practice, nurses from 7 adult critical care units at the University of California Davis Health System, Sacramento, Calif, began discussions on how to implement such a practice.