Pressure Ulcer
Pressure Ulcer Prevention Evidence Based Practice
Tasha Braggs
Chamberlain College of Nursing
NR351 Transitions to professional nursing
Summer 2011
Professional paper
. Evidence-based practice (EBP) provides nurses with a method to use critically appraised and scientifically proven evidence for delivering quality health care to a specific population. The fundamentals of EBP are in research. Nursing research provides nurses with qualitative research findings to establish nursing practice based on scientific evidence. Researching and utilizing research findings and implementing them in nursing practice provides optimal patient outcomes. The practice of EBP includes multiple steps such as, formulating a well-built question, identifying articles and other evidence-based resources that answer the question, critically appraising the evidence to assess its validity, applying the evidence and re-evaluating the application of evidence and areas for improvement. (Retrieved from http://hsl.lib.umn.edu/learn/ebp/mod01/index.html) At many clinical settings, skin integrity is a critical nursing diagnoses patients and nurses face daily. To increase optimal patient outcomes in regards to skin integrity EBP, researching, creating and implementing new skin care guidelines should be incorporated into daily nursing tasks. Maintaining optimal skin integrity and prevention of pressure ulcers are a challenge to the nursing staff on a surgical floor daily. Many patients have procedures with many surgical incisions and puncture wounds that must heal without complications. This is one responsibility to the nursing staff that is very critical to a positive patient outcome. The European Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel (EPUAP) defines a pressure ulcer as “an area of localized damage to the skin caused by pressure, shear, friction and/or a combination of these” (EPUAP, 2003). Nurses often see patient populations that consist of elderly people with thin fragile skin. This type of skin
Tasha Braggs
Chamberlain College of Nursing
NR351 Transitions to professional nursing
Summer 2011
Professional paper
. Evidence-based practice (EBP) provides nurses with a method to use critically appraised and scientifically proven evidence for delivering quality health care to a specific population. The fundamentals of EBP are in research. Nursing research provides nurses with qualitative research findings to establish nursing practice based on scientific evidence. Researching and utilizing research findings and implementing them in nursing practice provides optimal patient outcomes. The practice of EBP includes multiple steps such as, formulating a well-built question, identifying articles and other evidence-based resources that answer the question, critically appraising the evidence to assess its validity, applying the evidence and re-evaluating the application of evidence and areas for improvement. (Retrieved from http://hsl.lib.umn.edu/learn/ebp/mod01/index.html) At many clinical settings, skin integrity is a critical nursing diagnoses patients and nurses face daily. To increase optimal patient outcomes in regards to skin integrity EBP, researching, creating and implementing new skin care guidelines should be incorporated into daily nursing tasks. Maintaining optimal skin integrity and prevention of pressure ulcers are a challenge to the nursing staff on a surgical floor daily. Many patients have procedures with many surgical incisions and puncture wounds that must heal without complications. This is one responsibility to the nursing staff that is very critical to a positive patient outcome. The European Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel (EPUAP) defines a pressure ulcer as “an area of localized damage to the skin caused by pressure, shear, friction and/or a combination of these” (EPUAP, 2003). Nurses often see patient populations that consist of elderly people with thin fragile skin. This type of skin
References: Jackson, M.,et al. (2008). Pressure ulcer prevention in high-risk postoperative cardiovascular patients. Critical Care Nurse,31(4), 44-52. Gardnier, L.,et al. (2008). Evidence-based best practice in maintaining skin integrity. Wound Practice and Research, 16(2), 5-15. Moore, Z. (2010). Systematic review of repositioning for the treatment of pressure ulcers. EWMA JOURNAL, 10(1), 5-12. Geraghty, J. (2011). Introducing a new skin-care regimen for the incontinent patient. British Journal of Nursing, 20(7), 409-415. Gibbon, C. (2009). Moisture lesion or pressure ulcer?. Journal of Community Nursing, 23(10), 11-16.