Implementing Evidence-Based Care
Evidence-based practices (EBP) refer to the strategies that have been shown by clinical research to improve patient outcomes. They are medical or clinical interventions proven to have a positive effect on the health of patients. EBP is a patient-centered approach that can significantly improve nursing care delivery. It improves the health status of patients, increases professional knowledge, and updates best practices for delivery of care. Despite the accruable benefits, many nurses still struggle to implement evidence-based care.
The first major barrier to the implementation of EBP by nurses is that some of them do not have knowledge about these practices. Some professionals are not conversant with nursing practices that constitute EBP. The reason is that evidence-based care is constantly changing depending on new findings (Reddy, 2019). It evolves as clinical researchers conduct studies on how to improve patient care. Many nurses find it difficult to implement the best practices because they are not updated on them. Further, other nurses do not know how to integrate evidence from studies with their expertise. This means that although they have the knowledge, they do not know how to apply it. This can be a significant barrier that prevents implementation.
I have also witnessed nurses who are hesitant to implement evidence-based practices because of patient’s expectations. Often, patients come to the hospital with preconceived notions about the type of care they should receive. In the internet age, people read a lot of medical information online. While some of this information might be useful, other prevents nurses from implementing EBP (Reddy, 2019). For instance, when a patient insists on receiving care in a certain way, nurses find it difficult to go against their wishes. In fact, this may prevent healthcare providers from taking care of patients to the best of their capacity.
Another barrier I have witnessed to the implementation of EBP is overload of work. Sometimes, nurses have too many responsibilities to learn about or implement the best practices. In some facilities, they do the work of several healthcare providers because the roles of professionals within this industry are becoming increasingly blurred. In other hospitals, there is a shortage of nurses due to understaffing. Consequently, these nurses do not have time to conduct research on the best practices or familiarize themselves with the evidence-based practices.
Despite the challenges identified, there are the strategies that can remove these barriers. First, nurses should develop an interest in evidence-based practices. EBP has numerous advantages not just to patients but to healthcare providers. Nurses can improve their skills by conducting research on how best to care for patients. To help nurses overcome knowledge and skills barrier, the nursing curriculum should have research methods as a topic.
One of the best ways to increase the use of evidence-based practice among nursing professionals is to provide them with an enabling environment. Nurses should receive adequate support in their workplaces to implement the best practices (Reddy, 2019). For instance, senior and more experienced staff could teach less experienced nurses how to integrate best practices with their clinical expertise. Additionally, hospital management should adequately staff the facility to prevent an overload of work among nurses. They must be given enough time to stay updated on new research studies. Additionally, when nurses undertake the work of several healthcare providers, it prevents them from specializing in their field. An enabling environment entails providing nurses with the opportunity to grow their career as well as improve their caregiving skills.
Reference
Reddy, K. M. (2019). Challenges of implementing evidence based practice. JNPE, 5(1), 22-24. Web.