PURPOSE: The investigator sought to determine nurses' value orientation and intention to pursue graduate education, as well as their readiness for evidence-based practice.

METHOD: A descriptive correlational research design was used. Nurses (n=188) from different government and private healthcare institutions in Pampanga were purposefully selected to participate in this research undertaking. Three instruments were adopted: the Valuation of Graduate Studies Questionnaire, the Intention to Pursue Graduate Studies in Nursing Questionnaire, and the Nurses' Attitudes towards Evidence-Based Practice Scale and Knowledge Scale. Descriptive statistics and regression analysis were used to analyze the gathered data.

FINDINGS: Based on the results, nurses still have some confidence in pursuing graduate studies in nursing although they intrinsically value graduate education. Interestingly, nurses have a positive and an above average attitude toward evidence-based practice. However, results also show that nurses only have average knowledge in evidence-based practice which may be due to limited opportunities for evidence-based capability-training and insufficient access to technical resources. Regression analysis yielded both intrinsic value and utility value significantly predicted nurses' attitude toward evidence-based practice; while intrinsic value is also a significant predictor of nurses' likelihood of pursuing graduate studies.

CONCLUSIONS: When nurses intrinsically value evidence-based practice, they become intensely involved in it and can continue practicing it for a long time. It was found out that nurses' intention to pursue graduate education did not significantly predict their readiness for evidence-based practice. The result is indicative that there is an inconsistency in translating intention to practice, known as the "intention-behavior gap".