In nursing, evidence-based practice (EBP) is an integration of patients’ preferences, clinical expertise, and research evidence. EBP is an approach to problem-solving in clinical practice that emboldens nurses to offer individualized care (Godshall, 2015). EBP leads to improved patient outcomes. Notable progress in patient outcomes is the safety of the patient. Former practices like ensuring that babies sleep on their bellies and inserting saline in endotracheal tubes have been deemed unsafe by research (Godshall, 2015). Shorter times of recovery and improved healing are attributed to EBP as they lead to improvements in patient outcomes. Previous nursing practices have been altered, such as giving newborn mothers one day’s rest and undertaking daily bandage changes.
EBP plays a significant role in how nurses make decisions and enhances their professional accountability. EBP leads to “an attitude of inquiry” in the nursing profession, which leads them to make queries such as “does evidence exists on how a nurse can effectively undertake a procedure (Godshall, 2015)? Why is a nurse doing a procedure in a certain way?” and “is this the best care that a nurse can give to a patient?” EBP leads to improved utilization of resources, including nursing time. Previous mundane practices, such as doing daily dressing and checking vitals after every four hours, culminating in the loss of valuable nurses’ time and needless utilization of medical supplies that could have been used to offer more beneficial care (Godshall, 2015). However, EBP has led to the decline of such wastage, leading to improved care provision. EBP should therefore be utilized by nurses in their daily routine as it will lead to enhanced professional accountability, improved patient outcomes, and improved utilization of resources.
Reference
Godshall, M. (2015). Fast Facts for Evidence-Based Practice in Nursing: Implementing EBP in a Nutshell. New York: Springer Publishing Company.