I will have a much better knowledge base for evidenced based care following Nursing 360, next semester. My experience and knowledge of evidence based care is limited to what we learned in Nursing 220. By the end of that class I felt that I had a much better grasp intervention and patient care but I realize it was only the tip of the iceberg. My professors evaluated me after clinical and said that I was very competent, confident and compassionate. (Portfolio, 2007)
Evidenced-based care is
defined as “the integration of the best research evidence with clinical
expertise and patient values” (Sackett, Straus, Richardson, Rosenberg &
Haynes, 2000.).
In my mind, evidence based care and
clinically competent care goes hand in hand. Both of these are skills I have
worked to improve throughout my nursing education. In Nursing 220, Nursing
Competencies I was provided an initial look at what evidence based care
meant. We were required to complete a SKILLS CHECKLIST in order to move forward through our clinical experiences. From that point forward, I have
built on that foundation through my clinical experiences and classroom
didactic.
My ability to integrate evidence
based care during my clinical components in nursing school wouldn’t have been possible
without the knowledge gained completing the general undergraduate requirements.
In Religion 212, History of the New Testament we were required to critically
evaluate one book in the New Testament of our choice. I chose the LETTER TO
PHILEMON. This required me to use
critical thinking as well as apply research to the language of that time to
really understand the spirit of meanings in the story. Our Research and Informatics class
included learning about sampling, significance of data, and correlation. The
demonstration of our learning was gleaned during a group project where we
performed a thorough review of a study including a literature review and critic
of the evidenced used in the study. This was accomplished in a small group of 5
other students. I actively participated
in putting together a 28 page paper on OSTEOARTHRITIS. Our grasp on the
fundamentals learned in this class was evidenced by the 98% received on the
paper.
Nursing 441 was another class
that helped to build my evidence based care foundation. During this class we
did a presentation on CARDIAC R/O MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION.
We were required to research the causes, talk about the body systems
involved when a cardiac event occurs. We researched interventions to implement to assist
patients. In this presentation we applied not only the nursing process but also evidenced based care in researching our topic.
As the first step in my nursing
career comes to a close, I look back over my education and realize how far I
have come. There is diversity and growth in my breadth of knowledge that was
not there in Nursing 220. I have a strong desire to move forward with my
education to expand my understanding and ability as it relates to evidenced
based care.
