The Connected Learning Model for disseminating evidence-based care practices in clinical settings.

Clinical practice guidelines have been developed to improve patient care and outcomes. Guideline implementation is often stymied by the complexity of patients' conditions, complex care environments, and limited advanced clinical training of nursing staff. To translate key elements of heart failure guidelines into practice in a nursing home, the Connected Learning Model was developed based on the diffusion of innovations framework. An advanced practice nurse in geriatrics fostered greater interaction and collaboration among key administrative, medical, and nursing staff to promote awareness of heart failure guidelines and to translate key practices from those guidelines into the nursing home setting. Direct care staff skills for early recognition and reporting of signs and symptoms of acute heart failure were enhanced through a learner-centered educational program which included classroom and unit-based instruction and bedside clinical teaching. The Connected Learning Model is a promising method to mobilize advanced nursing expertise to bridge research/practice gaps through implementation of clinical practice guidelines that are systematically adapted to accommodate diverse health care contexts. Copyright 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.