The Importance Of Knowledge, And Attitudes Toward Evidence Based Practice Among Nursing Staff

Evidence-Base practice (EBP) is defined as: “based on problem identified from the practitioner’s area of practice; a combining of best evidence and professional expertise and an integration of this into current practice; about ensuring patients receive quality care, being part of quality improvement processes; about collaboration and requiring a team approach” (French, 1999). Scott and Mcsherry (2008) supported the French’s assertion, proposing the key elements of EBP are that it is a theory-driven process, which involves the use, evaluation and application of research; identification of best evidence; evaluation of care; problem solving; decision-making; clinical expertise; and requires patient involvement. Evidence-based practice is made of evidence, clinical expertise, patient preference, the context of care (Barker, 2013). In brief, evidence-based practice is the parameter in the nursing practice that it requires that the nurses gather and use clinical evidence to make decision for the patients so that in the nursing process they can deliver the quality of care for the patients (Ellis, 2013). In the other words, in the nursing practice all the nursing procedures performed by the clinical evidence supported.

As a provider of care, professional nurses depend on research, theories, and evidence based practice to guide the care they provide to patients. Nurses deliver care to their patients based on information they have learned through many years of school and training. Training for nurses and other providers of care is founded on theories, research, and evidence based practice in the healthcare field. Theories, research, and evidence based practice are all important for providing care to patients and each can be used in a different manner depending on the situation. Clinicians often use research based evidence to design and implement care that is high-quality and cost effective for patients. Evidence based practice can be used to provide care to patients in a steadily changing clinical environment. (PDF page 8-9). Nursing theories are frequently used as frameworks for establishing nursing care interventions and assessing

Evidence based practice is an integral part of nursing care. According to the Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses, evidence based practice is defined as, “the conscientious use of current best evidence in making decisions about patient care.” (AMSN) The use of evidence based practice has drastically improved patient outcomes, increased quality and safety of healthcare, and reduced costs for facilities. (Melnyk, 2016) In this paper I will provide the history of evidence based practice, how it has already been incorporated and impacted healthcare, and why it is important to nursing and healthcare as a whole.

Evidence based practice is when recent research is integrated into the clinical setting for maximum delivery of health care. A lot of evidence based practice was developed from research studies conducted by nurses such as decubitis ulcer prevention. Knowing and demonstrating the scientific methods and processes will help to advance nursing care by providing better interventions for patient care. Patient care plans should be developed based on evidence (Dycus, 2009). With monitoring outcomes from evidence based practice it can be determined if the care caused improvement in the healthcare setting. Using quality measures such as charts and diagrams to understand performance.

Evidence-based practice is the practice of making clinical decisions based off the best available research evidence coupled with the nurse’s own expertise, while also taking into account, the patient’s assessments and own personal preferences. This use of research has proven effective at providing better outcomes and lower healthcare costs, yet there are several barriers, such as time, education, and support, which prevent nurses from consistently using evidence-based practice (AJN, 2012). The top three barriers to the use of evidence-based practice are lack of time, education, and support in implementing new practices and using them consistently.

Another barrier is that organization does not provide the encouragement and acknowledgment to nurses who implement Evidence Based Practice (Cathy L. O’Nan, 2012). Major factors which prevent nurses from the implementation of Evidence Based Practices (EBP) are a lack of time to read articles, poor coordination with other members of health team and unavailability of nursing research articles. It was also concluded that nurses perceived the lack of managerial and organizational support to implement EBP (Ay, F., 2014).

Evidenced Based Practice (EBP) is essential to enable all nurses to provide the most current up to date practises for their patients. This process involves research, systematic review of current practises, critical thinking skills, evaluation and application to the clinical setting. In addition to this, the nurse must take into account the patients’ preferences. For nurses to have professional autonomy they must be able to justify their actions and demonstrate an understanding of why they perform the tasks they do. This defines them as unique professionals judged by their knowledge and not simply by their hands on skills.

In order to develop nursing knowledge and establish evidence-based practice (EBP) in nursing, there needs to be a "concept model, one or more theories and one or more empirical indicators" (Fawcett & DeSanto-Madeya, 2013, p. 26). The theoretical framework can be advantageous in guiding and supporting the design and execution of an EBP change. Using a conceptual model (C) theory (T) and empirical research (E) provides the foundation for an intervention to an identified clinical problem. Known as C-T-E structure, the application of this system in nursing practice involves an elevated level of critical reasoning, which assists in knowing what data is important and how it relates to practice change (Chinn & Kramer, 2011; Fawcett & DeSanto-Madeya, 2013; Mazurek Melnyk & Fineout-Overholt, 2015). The doctoral level of nursing necessitates the need to combine the understanding and knowledge gained from using the C-T-E structure, and then integrate the concepts and theories into daily practice.

Slutsky, J. (2005). Using evidence-based guidelines: Tools for improving practice. In B. F.-O. Melnyk, Evidence-based practice in nursing & healthcare. A guide to best practice (pp. 221-236). Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins.

Itroduction: Evidence-based practice is an approach to medicine that uses scientific evidence to determine the best practice (Beyea & Slattery, 2006). As nurses perform their daily tasks they must continually ask themselves, “What is the evidence for this intervention?”. Nurses are well positioned to question current nursing practices and use evidence to make care more effective. In order to improve patients’ outcomes it is the responsibility of the nurse to transition evidence-based practice into the norm, through application of daily practice (Flynn Makic, Rauen, Watson & Will Poteet, 2014). Continual evaluation of current practice must be performed to ensure the use of evidence-based practice opposed to practice based upon tradition. The implementation of evidence-based practice standardizes healthcare practices and diminishes groundless variations within care. These variations lead to the production of uncertain health outcomes (Stevens, 2013).

Within this essay Evidence based Practice will be identified and the significant effect it has on the nursing profession, barriers will also be explored in the implementation of Evidence Based Practice.

However the research study would have been better if they used qualitative methods to find out the nurse’s perceptions, knowledge and barriers towards evidence based practice in clinical decision making. Majid, et al. (2011) could have interviewed some of the participants to get detailed descriptions of how they feel about evidence based practice in clinical decision making. This would allow the researches to get an in-depth understanding making the study more valid (Saris and Gallhofer, 2007).

This paper will address and evaluate the research problem itself, the design of the study, the sample, how the data is collected, its limitations, and its findings. Furthermore, how does this study impact the overall nursing process?

The harmony among clinical and research orientation is essential to professional nurses as they dynamically enhance the nursing’s scientific knowledge by way of research. Evidence facilitates advancements in nursing and inhibits the usage of unjustified nursing errors and practices. Finally, evidence-based practice substitutes usage of trial and error and improves development, evaluation, and professional progression. Evidence-based practice is used by professional nurses for the sake of influencing the standard of care and for encouraging a self-directed nursing environment.

Evidence-based practice (EBP) in nursing means making decisions about patient care on the basis of best, current, standardized practice and guidelines. According to an article, written by Dr. Kathleen Stevens, the development of evidence-based practice (EBP) is fueled by the increasing public and professional demand for accountability in safety and quality improvement in health care (Stevens, 2013). The author also mentioned in her article that the intended effect of EBP is to standardize healthcare practices to science and best evidence and to reduce illogical variation in care,