Evidence-based practice in nursing & healthcare.

Evidence-based practice in nursing & healthcare.

Evidence based practice (EBP) is the conscientious use of

current best evidence in making decisions about patient care; it is

a clinical problem solving strategy that de–emphasizes decision

making based on custom and emphasizes the integration of

research evidence with clinical expertise and patient

preferences.

 

 

Evidence based practice (EBP) “involves an ability to access,

summarize, and apply information from the literature to

day–to–day clinical problems”. Evidence based practice “requires

an emphasis on systematic observation and experience and a

reliance on the research literature to substantiate nursing

decisions.” Evidence based practice allows practitioners to meet

a daily need for valid information about clinical situations.2

The EBP process is a method that allows the practitioner to

assess research, clinical guidelines and other information

resources based on high quality findings and apply the results to

practice.Evidence-based practice in nursing & healthcare. It is a problem solving approach to clinical practice and

administrative issues that integrates:

 a systematic search for and critical appraisal of the most

relevant evidence to answer a burning clinical question

 one’s own clinical expertise

 patient preferences and values.3

1. Why Evidence based nursing

Evidence–based nursing (EBN) is one approach that may enable

nurses to manage the explosion of new literature and technology

and ultimately may result in improved patient outcomes.

Nursing students spend a great deal of preclinical preparation

time designing care plans, reviewing pathophysiology, and

memorizing pharmacologic interactions. Although these activities

are useful, they cannot be the only method of preparing students

for nursing practice.

Sole reliance on textbooks and expert faculty knowledge does

 

not promote the critical thinking skills that nurses must have to

survive in the current fast paced clinical settings. Students must

learn to develop independent, evidence–based methods of

clinical decision making. Both medical and nursing professionals

have explored this change in healthcare practice, research and

knowledge development, a paradigm shift called “evidence

based practice.Evidence-based practice in nursing & healthcare.

EBNis an approach to making quality decisions and providing

nursing care based upon personal clinical expertise in

combination with the most current, relevant research available

on the topic. EBN implements the most up to date methods of

providing care, which have been proven through appraisal of

high quality studies and statistically significant research findings.

The goal of EBN is to improve the health and safety of patients

while also providing care in a cost–effective manner to improve

the outcomes for both the patient and the healthcare system.

EBN is a process founded on the collection, interpretation,

appraisal, and integration of valid, clinically significant, and

applicable research. Evidence-based practice in nursing & healthcare.The evidence used to change practice or

make a clinical decision can be separated into seven levels of

evidence that differ in type of study and level of quality. To

properly implement EBN, the knowledge of the nurse, the

patient’s preferences, and multiple studies of evidence must all

be collaborated and utilized in order to produce an appropriate

solution to the task at hand. These skills are taught in modern

nursing education and also as a part of professional training.

2.The steps of EBN

Cultivate Spirit of Inquiry: A spirit of inquiry refers to an

attitude in which questions are encouraged to be asked about

existing practices. Cultivating the spirit of inquiry allows health

care providers to feel comfortable with questioning current

methods of practice and challenging these practices to create

improvements and change.Evidence-based practice in nursing & healthcare.

3. Uses of EBP

The use of evidence based practice depends a great deal on the

nursing student’s proficiency at understanding and critiquing the

resear