Free Essay on Evidence-Based Nursing Practice: Main Issues for Organizations

In today's healthcare, the increasing emphasis on evidence-based practice (EBP) by healthcare professionals and facilities is one of the most important emerging trends. EBP refers to an approach to patient care delivery which uses problem-solving techniques to improve patient safety and quality of care (Stevens, 2013). According to Warren et al. (2016), EBP entails incorporating into healthcare delivery the preferences or values of patients, the expertise of clinicians, and the best available evidence from research and practice. However, as healthcare organizations strive to implement EBP in clinical settings, they are often faced with a myriad of challenges.

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Thus, one of the main issues for my organization in addressing a solution to evidence-based nursing practice is resistance to change by nurses due to lack of relevant skills, knowledge, and training. In its effort to find a solution to a clinical setting problem such as patient falls, a healthcare organization will often have to contend with ensuring that all members of the organization charged with ensuring the success of the implementation process are well conversant and comfortable with the practice change.

Where an organization's workforce is not receptive and supportive of an EBP nursing practice, it is an issue of great concern to the facility since outcomes such as enhanced patient safety may not be achieved. The lack of proper understanding of a particular practice change and its implications for the organization, patients, and the health care system is a leading cause of this resistance to change, hence a lack of success in a solution to an EBP solution to nursing practice (Stevens, 2013). Additionally, limited knowledge about the research process and lack of relevant education among the members of an organization may be a problem in translating research into practice. According to a study by Warren et al. (2016), the willingness, attitude, and knowledge of a healthcare organization team responsible for implementing an EBP nursing practice greatly determine its success. Therefore, poor attitudes, lack of support and goodwill, and limited knowledge among staff can adversely affect the success of an EBP program.

The first step in addressing this issue is might be the education and training of practicing nurses and other healthcare organization workforce on the particular EBP nursing practice program and its implications for healthcare outcomes. According to Stevens (2013), to address challenges to EBP implementation in nursing practice, organizations should retool and educate their current and future workforce for awareness and skill development. Also, as Warren et al. (2016) point out, to promote EBP uptake, healthcare organizations need to train, mentor, educate, and empower their point-of-care clinicians to provide them with the relevant knowledge and competencies for influencing change.

References

Stevens, K.R. (2013). The impact of evidence-based practice in nursing and in the next big ideas. OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 18 (2), 1-13. Retrieved from http://ojin.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/ANAMarketplace/ANAPeriodicals/OJIN/TableofContents/Vol-18-2013/No2-May-2013/Impact-of-Evidence-Based-Practice.html

Warren, J.I., McLaughlin, M., Bardsley, J., Eich, J., Esche, C.A., Kropkowski, L., & Risch, S. (2016). The strengths and challenges of implementing EBP in the healthcare system.Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing, 13 (1), 15-24. doi: 10.1111/wvn.12149. Retrieved from https://sigmapubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/wvn.12149