Ensuring practice is based on best evidence is challenging in many settings. Revisit ways to improve practice through evidence-based translation, review EBP principles, learn to critically evaluate practice environments, and deconstruct habits allowing for new norms based on best evidence. Includes group work using tools for moving evidence into practice.
Evidence-based practice (EBP) isn’t another ‘thing’ for nurses to embrace or ‘do’; EBP should be how we, as nurses’ practice. EBP is the foundation for best practice to optimize patient outcomes, advance practice, and reduce healthcare costs. Ensuring EBP is the underpinning of practice requires creative synergy of all nurses leading practice change based on best evidence and using quality improvement (QI) methods to repair broken processes of care delivery systems.
Cultivating a culture of inquiry within all nurses is the first critical step to innovation in practice that embraces EBP to meet the IOM mandate. Healthcare reform is upon us. Following in the spirit of Florence Nightingale, nurses need to embrace the use of evidence and data to continually move practice forward. Changes in practice, while at times tiring, is also an opportunity. Critically reviewing practice patterns, work-arounds, non-nursing tasks completed by nurses, policies, etc. provides new possibilities. Reviewing and appraising current best evidence is necessary to apply new knowledge that enhances practice and patient outcomes. However, effectively moving changes in practice, changes that ‘stick’ is hard work. Melding the knowledge and skills associated with change leadership can create synergistic actions that allow the application of best evidence and QI to achieve an environment of practice excellence. Nurses are in an optimal position to question practice, review the evidence, and create new processes for more effective care delivery systems.
Moving practice forward requires application of knowledge and skills that intersect EBP principles with a critical evaluation of processes for delivering care; and when evidence is lacking, the conduct of research is necessary to continually build the body of nursing practice evidence. Leadership, EBP, and QI while distinct concepts, they also must overlap providing successful practice innovations. This session will strive to engage the participant in re-thinking practice ‘norms’ to answer the question “Is my practice evidence-based, every day, every time”. And if not, why not. Furthermore, if there is a body of evidence that needs to be implemented, what are the process steps that must be considered to have the practice change ‘stick’. Leadership is both a position and a personal trait. The goal of this session is to capitalize on participant’s spirit of change leadership qualities to embrace EBP as the foundation for practice and apply the intersect of QI processes to achieve meaningful practice innovations that last.