Nursing professionals and other medical practitioners are continuously conducting research so as to find better methods of approaching and treating various conditions in their patients. This increased studies in the medical and nursing fields have seen these professions change drastically over the years as more and more professionals apply these research findings in their treatment options. Consequently, the continued research into evidence-based interventions has taken up the place of the traditional intervention strategies where patient care was highly influenced by the opinions and experiences health providers (Dalheim et al., 2012). Evidence Based Practice creates a shift in the healthcare profession to focus their emphasis on research findings from prior studies and research.
History of research in nursing
Florence Nightingale is credited as the first nursing professional to make inroads in the nursing profession though it was not taken up immediately. Nonetheless over the years more and more professionals in the nursing field have used this concept with the aim of improving patient care (Mackey &Bassendowski, 2016). This is done through the intensive application of research findings across the field to deal with clinical and medical conditions.
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Evaluation of scholarly nursing literature supporting evidence-based nursing practice
The evidence-based nursing practice has in recent years become the in thing in the nursing profession as more and more practitioners conduct studies in various clinical interventions. Scores of literature on this discipline is increasing by the day with each literature building upon the previous one. A study conducted in Norway to determine the perception and reception of Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) established that most of the nurses showed positivity on the use of Evidence-Based Practice (Dalheim et al., 2012). Further, the research findings indicated that inability to make out statistical terms, lack of time and complicated jargon in research articles were the main barriers to the adoption of EBP by most nursing professionals.
The research findings in this literature affect the existing knowledge in this field in that more needs to be done so as to ensure that more professionals adopt EBP. Consequently, there is need to conduct seminars into research methodologies, techniques, terminologies and how to interpret research findings (Colorado Messa University, 2016). Since most researchers prove the effectiveness of EBP, the professionals need encouragement to conduct individual research studies to close the existing knowledge gaps
How evidence-based patient care can improve the quality of care
Evidence-based patient care is considered as a current option in intervention strategies for clinical settings. This is so because many healthcare institutions, agencies, and practitioners have invested heavily in conducting research into medical conditions that require more than traditional approaches. Evidence-based patient care employs the research findings in coming up with intervention strategies which have worked in the past (Colorado Messa University, 2016). Consequently, there is a belief that these pretested strategies will work best as compared to trial interventions. Additionally, most of the research conducted in clinical set up usually invests in both control and target groups which are aimed at validating the research findings. More so Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) makes attempts to cover the existing gaps in the patient care for improved outcomes as well as a healthier population through the incorporation of both clinical evidence and experience(Colorado Messa University, 2016).
The patients undergoing treatments aligned to evidence-based practice stand to have better outcomes which are in line with improving patients' quality of life and safety. This is so since these patients are exposed to treatment options that are already tested on other patients and qualified to be used on other patients. More so EBP is about standardized treatment practices which have the ability to deliver outcomes that are more predictable (Gillam & Siriwardena, 2014). This means that patients and the medical practitioners are almost sure of the interventions results which the patients are being subjected to. In addition, the Evidence-based practice may, in the long run, contribute to decreased healthcare costs since there is a reduction in unnecessary procedures. Further, there is a reduced medical complication because the treatment options employed are already proven to work beyond considerable doubt.
Clinical strategies that can help foster evidence-based nursing practice
With more nursing professionals taking up and adopting EBP strategies in their course of practice, the following strategies can be adopted to foster the use of EBP further. The adoption can be facilitated through the use of interdisciplinary collaboration and communication with other staff to increase knowledge in research strategies (Tacia et al., 2015). Further, there is a need to mentor and provide access to professional networks and activities aimed at emphasizing and demonstrating the effectiveness of EBP. More so bedside nurses should get advanced education concerning evidence-based practice since they spend most of their time tending the patients (Tacia et al., 2015). Additionally, physicians need to accord support to the nurses since they are more endowed with clinical research knowledge to adjust at par for quality service delivery.
Nursing process components aligned to evidence-based practice
The nursing process components that are aligned to evidence-based practice are assessment, diagnosis, planning, implementation, and evaluation. A nursing professional must access the patient’s conditions to make a determination on the type of clinical interventions required by the patient. Further, the nurse plans on how the responses will be chosen and the implantation procedures. Finally, the nurse evaluates the intervention strategies to find out if they worked or not so as to give further recommendations.
In conclusion, the nursing professional has witnessed a revolution in the patients are treated with increased use of evidence-based practices in the healthcare institutions. Research into evidence-based care was initiated by Florence Nightingale and has in the recent years been extensively conducted in various clinical conditions. Research, however, show that there are still nurses who are still sceptical about this kind of interventions as it is seen as time-consuming and the statistical jargon too hard to understand. Interestingly, with multidisciplinary collaboration and communication among staff, these barriers are likely to be broken. The patients will stand to gain since this kind of intervention does not present a lot of complications and costs since it had been done earlier. It is then hoped that more research will continue in addition to all medical professionals making this kind of intervention the treatment option of choice.
References
Colorado Messa University (2016). Why evidence-based practice is vital to improving patient care. Retrieved from http://degree.coloradomesa.edu/articles/why-evidence-based-practice-is-vital-to-improving-patient-care.aspx.
Dalheim, A. et al. (2012). Factors influencing the development of evidence-based practice among nurses: a self-report survey. BMC Health Services Research, 12 (367). DOI: 10.1186/1472-6963-12-367.
Gillam, S. & Siriwardena, A. N. (2014). Quality improvement science: Evidence-based healthcare and quality improvement. Quality in Primary Care, 22, 125–32.
Mackey, A. & Bassendowski, S. (2016). The History of evidence-based practice in nursing education and practice. Journal of Professional Nursing, 33 (1), 51-55.
Tacia, L. et al. (2015). Identifying barriers to evidence-based practice adoption: A focus group study. Clinical Nursing Studies, 3 (2), 90-96.
