Evidence-Based CareProvide evidence based clinically-competent care. |
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Putting It All Together Day evaluationIn Nursing 220, before we went to clinical, we learned the fundamentals of care. Though the tasks were basic, the science and reasoning behind each action were clear. Our teachers made sure that we knew and understood the reasons because the understanding of "why" is what makes us professional nurses. Before going out to the first clinical, we were tested and assessed on these skills. On "Putting It All Together Day", we brand new nursing students were expected to perform these nursing skills by best practice. In this evaluation, I proved my ability in these skills. Nursing 220 was an important class for immersing us in our first science of application in nursing practice. At the time, the tasks overwhelmed me as I struggled to get grounded in the basics. Remembering all the details was overwhelming. As a senior nurse, I have gained competency in these basics to the point where the rationale guides the action, instead of the set of steps we once memorized to complete them. Nursing Research paper N360The research class taught us how to search for nursing research, analyze it and use it to determine evidence-based practice. For this assignment we collected research from several different levels of evidence on blood pressure management and incorporated them into an analytical paper that determined which research study was the strongest.When beginning this class, I wasn't sure how skills in interpreting research would help me. I had done some research papers in other liberal arts classes but had never looked at research with a discerning eye. As a senior nurse today, understanding the research is important has become important in dispeling Old Wives Tales, Popular health ploys, and any other misinformation that flies our way. This class was also crucial in explaining that not all research is good research. One study doesn't make it the truth. By using my analysis skills, I can determine if a study is valuable enough to become part of my best practice. Change projectNow that our research class had taught us how to interpret research. Leadership class aimed to teach us how to implement it in an organization in just three months. Our project's goal was to create a new patient information board system at St. Joseph's Medical Center that improved communication about pertinent client information in a confidential manner. In the end, the product we came up with was well received by the nurse managers on our target floors.Before taking this class, I had never before taken on (and completed) a project of this magnitude before. There were several set-backs and barriers that made our group want to quit more than once. But we didn't. This may be the biggest take home message of this project and for me as a senior nursing student. For when I enter the practice, I imagine there will be things I do not like and want to change. The perseverance and organization necessary to complete this project will aid me with my future change projects. Evidence based practice in the preceptorshipIn my preceptorship, I often must look up research and several other resources in order to get the best practice on a procedure. For instance, my preceptor and I were giving an enema to a child but it wasn't being effective. In a journal I wrote on the experience, I looked up multiple sources and found out the best way to give the enema to this specific patient with the hope that, I would feel more confident and get a better outcome next time.Further DevelopmentOnce I begin practicing full time, fluidity in providing care will come easier and easier. In Benners Novice to Expert, he discusses how a nurse journeys from being obsessed with the details of doing a procedure "the right way", to becoming fluent in the rationale behind procedures. This allows a nurse to have flexibility in nursing care without compromising best practice. This is my goal, that with practice, I too will become fluent in best practice. By staying abreast of evidence-based practice in nursing literature like the ANA journal, I can continue learning the rationale behind the practice and therefore improve my flexibility in practice while improving patient outcomes. |
What is evidence-based care?
~Translating medical research into practical interventions
What does it look like?•Multiple sources!
•Pathophysiologic data •Quality Improvement projects •National & local standards of practice •Cost-effectiveness analyses •Patient & family preferences Strategies for new nurses to promote evidence-based care• Subscribe to journals and read them! • Continuing education, in-services, and workshops • Find established sources of evidence in your field; no need to reinvent the wheel • Use multiple sources • Nationally sanctioned guidelines • Question, challenge and take risks • Dispel old wives tales • Collaborate with other nurses locally and globally • Interact with other disciplines to share nursing evidence. -Huston, C. J. (2006). Professional Issues in Nursing. Challenges and Opportunities. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott, Williams and Wilkins
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