Evidence Based Practice

Historically nurses’ decision making has relied on tradition, authority, trial and error and research (Lee 2003, p. 618). However, more recently the appreciation and application of evidence based practice (EBP) has caused a shift in clinical nursing decision making (Lee 2003, p. 618). EBP is defined as ‘integrating individual clinical expertise with the best available external clinical evidence from systematic research’ (Sackett et al. 1996, cited in Rolfe, Segrott & Jordan 2008, p. 448). EBP must take into account patient values and be tailored to individual patient needs (Foo et al. 2011, p. 522) and requires a commitment to lifelong learning (Johnson 2008, p. 169). This paper will explore the importance of EBP in clinical practice, outline the barriers faced by nurses’ in utilising research in their practice, describe the strategies in clinical settings to enhance the use of research in practice and the personal strategies I will employ to ensure that my future practice as a nurse will be based upon evidence and research.
The overarching aim of EBP is to arm nurses’ and patients with care options based on the best available evidence (Glasziou & Haynes 2005, p. 36), by using a systematic approach to clinical problem solving (Akobeng 2005, p. 837). There are numerous reasons as to why EBP is essential in clinical practice. First and foremost, EBP leads to quality health care and better patient outcomes (Parker 2005, p. 4). This is reinforced by the revision and inclusion of EBP standards in the Australian national competency standards for registered nurses’ (Waters et al. 2009, p. 510). Standard 3.1 states that the nurse will ‘practice within an evidence-based framework; identifies the relevance of research in individual/group health outcomes’ (ANMC 2006, p. 6). EBP is an expected competency for graduating nurses (Miller, Ward & Young 2010, p. 76).
Nursing care has previously heavily relied on ritualistic practices. McCutcheon and Zeitz (2005, p.