Clinical Judgment in Evidenced-Based Practice - Essay Example

Clinical Judgment in Evidenced-Based Practice al Affiliation: Clinical Judgment in Evidenced-Based Practice Introduction This paper will discuss the clinical judgment in evidence-based practices that is an interpretation by a medical officer on what the patient needs, their health status and the action to take in order for the patient to recover. In evidence-based practices, the decisions taken by the nurse are based on proven research and suit that specific case and could be different from the approach taken to another patient (Downie, Macnaughton & Randall, 2000). Background and significance EBP are based on making decision after careful consideration and evaluation of many factors and options. This concept acknowledges a lot of evidence and integrates it with professional clinical judgment and is hence very accurate (Dains, Baumann, & Scheibel, 2012). The evidence data is achieved from sources such as a variety of controlled trials, observations, quasi-experiments and consensus documents among other sources. Such information is then used by nurses to make any decisions on patients, and the accuracy levels of the outcome are very high. Clinical judgment in (EBP) is flexible, and the information that the nurse has can fit different patients with similar problems. A combination of different researches offers information that is adaptable to different categories of patients and hence the nurses are in a position to effectively cater for a diversified population (Goode & Piedalue, 2009). The concept has been used in various countries and has provided excellent results and hence I choose it since accuracy and effectiveness govern the medical field. Although clinical judgment and evidence-based practice are often at loggerheads, their integration has provided better results than each of them individually (Goode & Piedalue, 2009). Definitions The medical field has many scholars, and they have offered different definitions for the concept although the main ideas of the concept are presented in each definition. According to the oxford dictionary, clinical judgment is defined as the application of information based on observation of the patient and recorded data to draw a conclusion. According to Higgs, Burn, & Jones clinical judgment is defined as making interpretations and judgments about the health condition of the patient and the medical care they require (Higgs, Burn, & Jones, 2001). According to the clinical dictionary, clinical judgment is the results of a patient evaluation which guides the doctor nurse on the mode of action. According to, Melnyk & Fineout-Overholt, clinical judgment is the process of offering advice to a patient regarding their health conditions and it is aimed at improving the health of the patient (Melnyk & Fineout-Overholt, 2011). They define evidence-based practice as a system of employing results of various forms of research and studies in the day to day running of the medical field. Most scholars offer definitions of the two concepts, clinical judgment and evidence-based practice; separately although the difference between them cannot be identified since It is not possible to separate research from knowledge (Masters, 2009). Concept definition After a careful analysis of many definitions of the concept, I would define it as the process of making a decision on a patient based on medical knowledge, practical experience a and research. Exemplar case I recent case at a local hospital, a young boy was admitted with symptoms of an unknown disease. The young boy had various symptoms such as occasional vomiting, sleep disturbances, diarrhea and weight loss. According to the nurses, the combination of symptoms did not lead to a specific disease since the symptoms signaled three diseases. After a laboratory, the diseases under test were all negative. This was a hard blow to the doctors and nurses in the hospital, and they referred him to a national hospital. The national hospital had a good record of effectiveness and had recently implemented the evidence-based practice. They tested the young boy for a couple of diseases, and the results were all negative, the senior doctor called upon some nurses to carry out a research on the disease with reference to past cases and medical knowledge. After a couple of days, they came up with a solution to the boy’s medical condition. This proved that clinical knowledge cannot stand alone and requires the support of evidence-based practice for effectiveness of the medical sector. The combination of medical knowledge and research makes up the concept of clinical judgment in evidence-based research, and it is unavoidable. Related concepts Patient-centered care Patient-centered care concept involves allowing the patient family to be involved while attending to the patient. It appreciates the different cultures of patients and gives room for their integration in the medical process (Malloch & Porter-OGrady, 2010). It is similar to the EBPs since they both value the patient cultures although they differ since clinical judgment bases on EBPs is more detailed and has high accuracy. Professionalism The concept of professionalism entails employing the nursing code of ethics to every situation in which in hospital (Malloch & Porter-OGrady, 2010). The concept generalizes on how patients and conditions should be handled and overlooks the individuality of the patient and hence is different from EBPs. However, they are similar since they rely on medical knowledge in handling medical conditions although in EBPs more research is done. Social context Clinical judgment involves deciding what the correct medical action to take for a patient to recover. Socially, people have various culture, traditions and religions which give solutions and options in dealing with health conditions. Often, various decisions by the doctor may contradict the beliefs of the patient and hence creating problems in administration of the healthcare. However, clinical judgment that s guided by evidence-based research respects the cultural values and involves them while researching on best practices (Roberts & Yeager, 2004). The concept, therefore, considers the beliefs of people and integrates them with medical knowledge and research to come up with a decision that the patient will easily accept and they will respond effectively to the health status. Summary and conclusion Clinical judgment is Crucial in determining the rate of recovery of the patient. A clinical judgment based on EBPs, considers various aspect of the health of the patient, and comes up with a decision that is specific to that patient and a decision that is acceptable to the patient. Clinical judgment is measured according to its ability to address the patient situation, its interpretation and effectiveness of the outcome. References Dains, J. E., Baumann, L. C., & Scheibel, P. (2012). Advanced health assessment and clinical diagnosis in primary care. St. Louis: Mosby. Downie, R. S., Macnaughton, J., & Randall, F. (2000). Clinical judgement: Evidence in practice. Oxford [u.a.: Oxford Univ. Press. Goode, C. J., & Piedalue, F. (2009). Evidence-based clinical practice. Journal of Nursing Administration, 29(6), 15-21. Higgs, J., Burn, A., & Jones, M. (2001). Integrating clinical reasoning and evidence-based practice. AACN Advanced Critical Care, 12(4), 482-490. Malloch, K., & Porter-OGrady, T. (2010). Introduction to evidence-based practice in nursing and health care. Sudbury, Mass: Jones and Bartlett. Masters, K. (2009). Role development in professional nursing practice. Sudbury, Mass: Jones and Bartlett Pub. Melnyk, B. M., & Fineout-Overholt, E. (2011). Evidence-based practice in nursing & healthcare: A guide to best practice. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Roberts, A. R., & Yeager, K. R. (2004). Evidence-based practice manual: Research and outcome measures in health and human services. Oxford: Oxford University Press, USA. Read More