Ability to Promote Evidence Based Practice Among Frontline Nurses, Essay Example

Give one example of a data collection method used in one of the studies identified in your Medication Error Project. What variable was this method used to measure?

A randomized controlled trial was conducted by Kripalani et.al (2012) in order to address an intervention conducted by pharmacists in order to determine the number of medication errors that took place after hospital discharge for patients with heart disease or heart failure. This study utilized an intervention that was comprised of four separate components and was used to measure the number of medication errors that were evident for patients 30 days after discharge from the hospital (Kripalani et.al, 2012). The intervention included medication reconciliation supported by the pharmacist, pharmacist counseling in the inpatient setting, adherence aids for low literacy patients, and a follow-up protocol via telephone after patients had been discharged (Kripalani et.al, 2012).

Choose one of the items, (bold the item you chose) determine the descriptive statistic that is reported, and indicate what it means. For example, “What is the highest level of education of this group?”

For Item 6 in regards to racial or ethnic background, this statistic demonstrates that over two-thirds of the participants in the survey are White, followed by Black or African American and then Race or ethnicity unknown. This question provides information regarding the race or ethnicity of the survey participants, but is unlikely to have any type of real impact on the other questions provided in the survey. This is a common question in many surveys and is often necessary to determine the survey demographic, but it often may not impact how participants respond to the other questions in the survey (Houser, 2015).

How does a nurse know what (if any) knowledge in a research study is usable for clinical practice? What would a critical thinker look for in the evidence before deciding to change? What influence do credibility and clinical significance have on your decisions to integrate research-based evidence into your practice?

Nurses must be able to recognize the value of research that is based upon their prior knowledge and other information that is available at the time. This requires their understanding of the larger dynamics at work and a means of recognizing what may be necessary to influence clinical practice in different ways, whether circumstantial or otherwise. There must be a greater focus on nurses’ ability to interpret research effectively and to make a difference in the clinical outcomes that are likely to transpire from research-based evidence. Nurses must be able to identify whether or not existing evidence has any impact on current practice methods and aim to apply research as needed to improve outcomes and to make a difference that will have a positive and lasting impact on the real practice environment (Melnyk, Fineout-Overholt, Gallagher-Ford, & Kaplan, 2012). In this context, it is important for nurses to apply evidence not only for the sake of protecting the integrity and need for research within the nursing field, but to also demonstrate a means of improving clinical practice by supporting and advancing practical needs with these tools in place. This will have a greater impact on a highly relevant topic such as medication errors, where there are significant needs that must be addressed and that require continuous improvement that will have a positive impact on patient outcomes.

Please share the factors you used to determine that the evidence found in medication errors is sufficient for a change of practice and defend your decision.

The number of medication errors that often occur within the clinical practice environment is too excessive to provide a realistic and appropriate response to meet patient needs; therefore, these issues must be addressed more closely and must provide a means of recognizing the value of reducing medication errors to positively impact the practice setting on a consistent basis so that outcomes improvement is likely to occur and so that patient safety is not compromised under any circumstances.

How has your thinking changed about nursing research and evidence-based practice as the result of this course? How can you apply what you have learned to your practice to make it based on evidence?

Evidence-based practice in nursing provides an additional layer of support and guidance for nurses in different ways and demonstrates a greater need to develop new strategies to apply evidence effectively to a given set of circumstances. This requires nurses at an advanced level to impact staff nurses and their perspectives regarding research-based evidence and to have the knowledge that is required to apply this evidence effectively to improve patient safety and quality of care (Gerrish et.al, 2012). This will also demonstrate a means of recognizing the value of patient care outcomes and to determine what is required for nurses to be effective in the application of evidence-based research as part of their regular practice routine.

References

Gerrish, K., Nolan, M., McDonnell, A., Tod, A., Kirshbaum, M., & Guillaume, L. (2012). Factors Influencing Advanced Practice Nurses’ Ability to Promote Evidence?Based Practice among Frontline Nurses. Worldviews on Evidence?Based Nursing, 9(1), 30-39.

Houser J. (2015). Nursing research: Reading, using, and creating evidence (3rd ed.). Sudbury: Jones and Bartlett.

Kripalani, S., Roumie, C. L., Dalal, A. K., Cawthon, C., Businger, A., Eden, S. K., … & PILL-CVD pharmacist intervention on clinically important medication errors after hospital discharge: a randomized trial. Annals of internal medicine, 157(1), 1-10.

Kwan, J. L., Lo, L., Sampson, M., & Shojania, K. G. (2013). Medication reconciliation during transitions of care as a patient safety strategy: a systematic review. Annals of internal medicine, 158(5_Part_2), 397-403.

Melnyk, B. M., Fineout-Overholt, E., Gallagher-Ford, L., & Kaplan, L. (2012). The state of evidence-based practice in US nurses: critical implications for nurse leaders and educators. Journal of Nursing Administration, 42(9), 410-417.

Mueller, S. K., Sponsler, K. C., Kripalani, S., & Schnipper, J. L. (2012). Hospital-based medication reconciliation practices: a systematic review.Archives of internal medicine, 172(14), 1057-1069.