Discussion: Evidence-Based Practice and Nursing Research
It is crucial to use evidence-based methods in patient care as a nurse. The discussion will focus on your most recent experience in nursing to evaluate whether or not the care was informed by research and evidence. A PICOT model question will be developed. In this discussion, you’ll identify any obstacles that might prevent the use of evidence-based clinical practices and offer strategies to overcome these barriers.
EBP is a method of assessing the quality of care provided in recent clinical experiences. A patient suffering from chronic obstructive lung disease (COPD) was my clinical experience. My care was based on research and evidence. I used an incentive spirometer to help the patient maintain adequate oxygen saturation levels, provided education on smoking cessation, and administered albuterol via a nebulizer to relieve the patient’s breathing difficulty. The evidence supports these interventions and they have been proven to increase patient outcomes.
Here are the background questions I have and my PICOT question regarding COPD.
Background questions
- Which are the risks of developing COPD?
- Which are the best smoking cessation methods for COPD patients?
- Is patient education possible to increase the outcomes for patients suffering from COPD?
PICOT question
My organization’s policies, procedures and culture may either support or hinder the adoption of evidence-based practice. Some staff might resist change, preferring to use their current practices over adopting evidence-based ones. The implementation of EBP can also be hindered by a lack of time and resources.
In my company, one barrier is the inability to implement evidence-based practice. I see this as a lack of resources and time for staff to review research findings. Here are some strategies to overcome this obstacle:
- For the review of evidence-based practice, build a multidisciplinary team with researchers, staff and others.
- To make it easy for researchers to find research results quickly and easily, create a protocol.
- Staff should be trained on the best ways to evaluate and use research results in their work.
It is vital to use evidence-based medicine when providing patient care. Nurses can enhance patient outcomes by defining a PICOT question, identifying obstacles to implementing EBP and promoting best practice in the clinical setting.
Course Project: Part 1—Identifying a Researchable Problem
You will first identify a problem or nursing problem, and then formulate a POICT question that addresses it. A list of keywords will be created that can be used to conduct a literature review to find relevant research.
High rates of medication error in the nursing environment is the problem I identified. It is important to note that medication errors could lead to patient harm and higher healthcare costs.
These are the five questions I used to solve this problem:
- Careful consideration should be given to the possible causes of errors when administering medication in a hospital setting.
- How can we reduce the incidence of medication error?
- Is technology possible to help prevent errors in medication?
- How do medication errors impact patient outcomes, healthcare costs and quality?
- Is there a way to make medication errors less frequent through staff training?
After analyzing the feasibility of these questions, the most appropriate question is “What interventions have been implemented to reduce medication errors?” This question is feasible because it is specific, measurable, and has a clear focus.