Anne E. Carter, MS, RN, CEN, Emergency Department, University Hospital, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, USA
In a Level One trauma center, the nurses in the Emergency Department are on the front line. It is imperative that they are up to date on the latest advances in medical and trauma care for their patients. Besides the usual certifications typically expected of the emergency department nurse, evidence-based practice is the best way for these nurses to improve and update their practice. The challenge is developing a program in this constantly busy environment. When do the nurses have time to read articles relevant to their practice? If they do, how do they know what is a good, rigorous study/article? Perhaps most importantly, how do these nurses take the next step to implement practice changes based on the evidence? A majority of the nurses in our department are Associates Degree-prepared and have had little or no exposure to research or literature reviews. This presentation will discuss some of the hurdles and successes of introducing both the concept and implementation of evidence-based practice to the nurses in a Level One trauma center.