Evidence based practice (EBP) is an important component of care in health care today. Evidence based practice is "key to delivering the highest quality of care and ensuring the best patient outcomes at the lowest costs (Melnyk & Fineout-Overholt, 2014)". In the past, when I heard the term "evidence-based practice", it meant mostly relying on proven research as the basis of practice. Through this course, I am learning that EBP involves the integration of research evidence, internal evidence, clinical expertise, and patient preferences into the care of each individual. As a nurse, utilizing EBP in such a way seems like a no-brainer! Of course I want my patients to receive high quality care and have great outcomes. Hopefully, they will return to their prior level of functioning or greater once fully recovered.
      I feel that this course is a good companion course to research. Sometimes, I wondered how my facility came up with some of the protocols and guidelines we follow such as urinary catheter guidelines and blood transfusion protocols. This course has shown me that there are trustworthy sources of clinical guidelines such as the "National Guideline Clearinghouse (NGC)" and "The United States Preventative Services Task Force (USPSTF); many care guidelines are based upon these and other reliable sources of research and recommendations. In fact, right after learning about the existence and function of these agencies, I discovered a catheter kit at my place of employment which was labeled with usage guidelines provided by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

      I liked that the course outlines the necessary steps to implementing EBP. I feel like the group project I am participating in throughout this semester is highlighting the aspects of what it would actually take to implement an intervention which is evidence-based. Aspects of implementing EBP that I never analyzed previously to the course include the cost, timeline, staff education, and equipment/supplies which might be required to facilitate the necessary practice change. The fact that the assigned project is a group project is difficult; however, I believe that initiating a new practice is probably never a one person job and would require compromise and collaboration with other members of the health care team.
      I am looking forward to completing the project. I feel that although the course is not complete, and will not be until December, that I already have a deeper understanding of what is exactly meant by "evidence-based practice", it's purpose in health care and especially, the nursing profession, as well as strategies to help implement practice in "real-life" clinical situations.

Reference:

Melnyk, B. M., & Fineout-Overholt, E. (2014). Evidence-based practice in nursing & healthcare: A guide to best practice,

          (3rd ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.