What Nurses Need to Know and Do to Offer Evidence-Based Care - Essay Example

"What Nurses Need to Know and Do to Offer Evidence-Based Care" is a perfect example of a paper on care. Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) is regarded as one of the optimal approaches being followed in the healthcare sector. The basic premise of this practice is healthcare practitioners had to analyze and then select the best possible evidence or practices that are being followed in the healthcare sector so that that evidence or practices can be utilized during the decision-making process in the healthcare institutions. It is about how healthcare practitioners including nurses adopt that effective evidence as part of their daily functioning and thereby provide improved as well as quality care processes to the patients. In a way, “EBP unifies research evidence with clinical expertise and encourages individualization of care through the inclusion of patient preferences.” (Stevens, 2013). However, the nurses particularly staff nurses and Advanced Practice Nurses (APN) need to be communicated with all the nuances of EBP, its benefits, and importantly how it needs to be adopted by them, for it to be successfully implemented.

The first step for communicating EBP among both staff nurses as well as APNs is conducting a survey among them to find their knowledge levels about EBP. Apart from evaluating their knowledge and skill levels about EBP, this baseline survey can be used to measure their attitudes and beliefs towards EBP, as well as the “resources available within the organization to support EBP.” (“Pitt Nurse,” 2007). Once this baseline survey is completed, reading materials that can introduce the basic concepts of EBP, its applications, and other details can be developed by the in-house staff or could be accessed from creditable sources. After these materials are developed and distributed among staff nurses and APNs, an instructional, as well as an interactive session, can be conducted. During these sessions, the knowledge and the adoption levels among staff nurses and APNs can be evaluated or tested. For staff nurses particularly, rather than asking them to read complete volumes of research reports, a summarized version could be provided. In addition, they could be shown “how to access reviews that summarize current research findings, along with implications for the most up-to-date clinical practices, from a hospital computer or from home.” (“Pitt Nurse,” 2007). As far as APNs are concerned, due to their better theoretical and practical knowledge, they could be asked to read complete versions of important research reports and then track data that can support the continued use of existing practices. They could also track data that could oppose the current practices and facilitate the formation of new practices. “APNs should be expected to lead teams in applying evidence to initiate practice changes and put strategies into place to sustain a culture that fosters evidence-based practice.” (Caldwell, 2014). Furthermore, both staff nurses and APNs can be provided with communication channels in the form of email addresses and other online chat options, where all their queries could be discussed and solutions found out, under the supervision of an EBP nursing council. “Designated members of the EBP nursing council, including the nurse(s) who submitted the question, review the available literature to determine if there is sufficient evidence to answer the question and/or propose a change in current practice.” (“Pitt Nurse,” 2007). In addition, if healthcare institutions incorporate the competencies related to EBP “into health care system expectations, orientation programs, performance reviews, job descriptions, and promotion protocols”, EBP can be communicated to the nurses in the more optimum manner. (Caldwell, 2014). So, it is clear that when EBP is communicated to both staff nurses as well as APNs through the above-discussed steps, then it can be aptly and successfully implemented.

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