Discovering the Culture of Inquiry - Essay Example

Discovering the Culture of Inquiry: Evidence-Based Practice, Nursing Research and Quality Improvement The concept of evidence-based practice (EBP) provides that where there are questions on how to treat a patient, there should also be a place, or repository, where medical personnel can conduct research into studies done on those specific problems that also represent the patient and his or her current set of symptoms (Melnyk & Fineout-Overholt, 2011). As each research study is done, the particulars of the study and resulting proven evidence, once coded, becomes part of the overall repository that all medical personnel may access whenever needed, from hospitals and clinics.

The value of research studies, whereby new medicines along with control groups, are tested for various health symptoms at different dosage levels, and then added to a standardized repository, cannot be overstated enough. Nurses use theory-based practices in first interviewing and working with patients to record health issues which are compromising those patients, including their environments. From there, a nurse can utilize the same theory or add on another theory to complement and enhance a treatment program, based on research conducted through the hospital or clinic’s repository of clinical information (Allred, Smith & Flowers, 2004).

The Cochrane Center in Oxford, England, along with the Cochrane Collaboration, is one of the largest repository of clinical information which can be accessed by medical personnel nearly everywhere in the world. This, along with nursing theory practices, and researching the latest proven methods of medical practice, provide the best foundation for both nurses and their patients in getting the help they need (Melnyk & Fineout-Overholt, 2011). ReferencesMelnyk, B.M., & Fineout-Overholt, E. (2011).

Evidence-Based Practice in Nursing & Healthcare (2nd ed.). Baltimore, MD: Wolters Kluwer Health. Allred, S.K., Smith, K.F. & Flowers, L. (2004). Electronic Implementation of National Nursing Standards-NANDA, NOC and NIC as an Effective Teaching Tool. Journal of Healthcare Information Management, 18(4). Available at http://www.himss.org/content/files/jhim/18-4/original1.pdf