What is Evidence-Based Practice in Nursing & How Does It Work?

Firstly, do you know what evidence-based practice is? It is a systematic process that nurses use to improve patient outcomes. Many of you face issues in understanding the concepts of nursing. Thus, you can seek aid from nursing assignment help experts. They are well-trained and educated enough to solve your every doubt. Moreover, this post will discuss the steps that are used in the EBP implementation process. So, what are you waiting for? Explore this piece.

How EBP Works: The Five Steps

Now you are aware of the term EBP. Let’s learn how it works. It carries 5 A’s. Ask, Acquire, Appraise, apply and access. To learn about these steps indepth, dive into this section.

Ask

The word ask means to request something. In EBP, it is the first step. t includes clinical inquiries structured through the PICOT format, where P stands for patient, I represents intervention, and C denotes comparison. O or outcome. Lastly, T for time.

Acquire

It refers to obtaining something. The user inquires about the entire evidence-based practice method. It is the second step in EBP. It means selecting the best and appropriate resources to find data. Additionally, you can use the format PICO to improve your search strategy.

Appraise

It means to evaluate the quality, quantity and validity of research evidence. Validity refers to the overall grade of the study process. Reliability means the consistency and precision of the study's results. Also, if you need any aid, you can seek help with assignment writing.

Apply

It is the most vital step of evidence-based practice in nursing. In this, you need to apply all the evidence that you have acquired to a clinical decision. Also, if you learn about evidence-based practice in nursing in detail, you can seek support from the Assignment Desk experts.

Assess

It is the final step where nurses evaluate the changes in the process that they have implemented. It is crucial to analyse whether the current approach worked for the patient or if there is a need for improvement for the future.

The primary aim of the EBP process is to improve patient health.

Key Benefits of EBP

The section above helped you learn about the process of EBP implementation. In this section, you will know its key benefits. It improves patient outcomes, reduces healthcare costs, increases nurse autonomy, enhances critical thinking and fosters professional accountability. Explore this section to learn about the benefits indepth.

Improves Patient Outcomes

EBP enhances patient outcomes through several reasons such as safety, effectiveness and efficiency of care. Moreover, it utilises the latest and most reliable technology, which leads to better patient results. Studies say that EBP uses methods that result in shorter hospital stays.

Reduces Healthcare Costs

It reduces hospital costs through patient outcomes, improved efficiency and lastly, eliminates unnecessary spending. It gives cost-effective and high-quality care. Now you must be thinking how does it reduces hospital costs? It decreases complications, optimises resources and supports preventative care.

Increases Nurse Autonomy

It increases nurses' autonomy by providing them with knowledge and confidence to make vital decisions based on available resources. Additionally, it helps them to question existing practice with a better approach. It assists them in gathering new ideas and conducting their own research. Also, it aids them in overcoming hierarchical barriers.

Enhances Critical Thinking

As you know, implementing EBP requires research and focus. Critical thinking helps them to examine data, solve problems and make clinical judgments. All these are vital for evidence-based practice. Moreover, when nurses apply evidence, they use their own knowledge and patients' values to make them feel independent. It helps them improve their leadership skills.

Fosters Professional Accountability

EBP is a basis of skilled duty. It is because nurses are required to explain their actions with proper and accurate proof, not just opinions. Additionally, it provides nurses with a structured process for better decision-making. They ensure that the patient is safe, honest and effective and improving their conditions.

These are all the benefits of EBP.

Common Challenges to EBP Implementation

Now you are aware of the benefits of EBP. In this section, you will see common challenges that you face in EBP implementation. It includes time constraints, lack of knowledge, organisational resistance, limited access to resources and communication. Learn about these challenges in brief in this section.

Time Constraints

It is one of the most common barriers that occurs in the implementation of evidence-based practice in nursing. Nurses often operate in a fast-paced environment, pressured with a heavy workload. Additionally, a lack of time makes it difficult for nurses to keep up with and read reliable research. Suppose nurses have found reliable evidence, but they don't have time to implement it due to a heavy workload.

Lack of Knowledge

As you know, EBP requires sufficient knowledge. Therefore, without info, you cannot perform the process of implementing EBP. Asking focused queries can be tough if you don't have the basic knowledge. Also, a lack of search skills, such as using Boolean operators, can limit the ability of the nurses to find trustworthy proof. The same goes for applying; without understanding the evidence, nurses cannot add new findings to the process.

Organisational Resistance

This barrier can make changes in the motivation of individual clinicians. Factors that contribute to organisational resistance are culture and tradition, leadership and management, resources and infrastructure. In culture, staff may feel insecure about neglecting familiar surroundings. In leadership, senior management can see EBP as a low-end process compared to other work. It can direct to a lack of resources and a less supportive system. For example, if there is no staff in the hospital, then there will be no time for EBP because of heavy workloads.

Limited Access to Resources

As discussed, if there is no support from senior management, then there is a high probability that nurses will lack the resources. As you know, many nurses don't have expensive journals to conduct high quality research for better outcomes. Additionally, if nurses want to apply new methods, then they may require medical equipment that the hospital cannot afford. Further, a lack of EBP experts can make it difficult for nurses to implement the whole process, especially those who don't have much experience.

Communication Gaps

It is one of the primary factor that make the EBP process unsuccessful. As you know, the flow of data is essential for healthcare teams to make crucial decisions. Most importantly, they need to coordinate effectively for better care. This gap can occur due to hierarchy issues, differing communication styles and lack of collaboration.

All these are the common challenges that nurses face during the EBP process.

Conclusion

Evidence-based practice is vital to improve patients' overall outcomes. It requires good communication skills. In case you need any help regarding nursing topics, you can seek support from nursing assignment help professionals. Also, this post has discussed the steps to implement EBP, the benefits and the common challenges that you face in the EBP process. Hopefully, now you have understood the EBP in nursing accurately.

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