Initiate the Steps of Evidence Based Practice - Essay Example

Therefore, this paper aims at highlighting the skills and knowledge that the implementation of evidence based practice requires, given the consistency that this process demands. The clinical practice that the paper will focus on is the reason behind proper washing of the hands and the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) as a measure of infection control. The background questions that guide the relevance of this clinical practice is how often do we see nurses on a unit washing their hands.

In addition to that, the practice is based on the definition of effective hand washing and what the purpose of personal protective equipment is in the nursing practice. Besides, the question of how healthcare providers get bacterial contamination comes into light. The practice of hand washing is a first break of infection. It represents the cheapest and most effective way of preventing infections including the nosocomial infections. Many of the HAI cases are preventable by implementing a combination of strategies, which include environmental cleaning and control, the use of personal protective equipment and the utilization of precautions concerning isolation.

The use of antiseptic agents as a concept of hand washing began in the 19th century. In 1961, the United States Public Health Service released a film that demonstrated the training of techniques used in effective hand washing and recommended it for use by healthcare workers. In the years 1975 and 1985, there were releases of formal guidelines on the practices on hand washing in hospitals as published by CDC (Isaacs, 2012). Moreover, the history of personal protective equipment dates back to 1970 when the United States CDC recommended the use of seven categories of isolation.

Fast track to the year 1983, the precautions of isolation on secretion or drainage, tuberculosis, blood and body fluid were recommended. The CDC further extended the precaution levels in the year 2007 to envisage safe injection