Do nurse educators use evidence in nursing education? A qualitative study

•The nurse educators get confused between the concepts evidence-based nursing and evidence-based education.•The educators use evidence in updating course contents about nursing practices rather than in pedagogic processes.•The educators mostly make their decisions based on enforcements and some reports not considered as evidence.•Inability to access evidence for nursing education and resistance to change were barriers to evidence-based education.•A good leadership and nurse educators' awareness were encouraging for evidence-based education.