Essay On Evidence Based Practice

Applying Evidence-Based Practice

In social work evidence based practice is considered to be a decision making process and practitioners rely on the evidence when working with clients. According to Aveyard and Sharp (2013), evidence based practice is not easy to put into practice and there are many barriers to evidence based practice such as lack of time, lack of awareness of research, lack of support and cooperation, and lack of authority and inadequate facilities (p. 145). Although there are challenges to implementing evidence base practice this is still a doable task in the field of social work. Therefore, practitioners need to explore the motivation, knowledge and skills needed by the individual, the organizational motivation, learning

Social workers should seek the knowledge of both first hand and second hand experiences. Some skills needed have to be developed by the individual practitioner such as critical thinking skills, data retrieval and critical assessment abilities, and research and evaluation approaches. Using this knowledge along with the skills developed leads to a great practitioner. Developing your own knowledge and skills is a strategy and this pertains to a social work practitioner becoming knowledgeable in the field. This means actually reading the information that is out there and processing it yourself. The first step is understanding your own values, culture, and beliefs and applying it to the information learned. A practitioner should be aware of what skills they are good at and continue to develop those skills. Once the practitioner is grounded in her own knowledge then seeking information elsewhere from the literature and colleagues is the next step for understanding. Being able to pinpoint the deficits leads to the development of the skills previously lacked. According to Aveyard and Sharp (2013), a self-assessment should be administered to gauge the level of skill and knowledge gaps (p.146). Using an assessment to see where deficiency

148). Although individuals each have their own cultures specific to them including values, beliefs, and norms when you are a part of a group there are similar identified cultural aspects. This sharing of culture is what makes a cohesive group; it allows the members to have shared connections. According to Aveyard and Sharp (2013), the culture of the organization can impact the way evidence based practice is developed (p. 148). One way organizations can promote the development of evidence base practice is by motivation. By motivating individuals and organizations to use evidence based practice the services for the clients are improved. The motivational factors can be financial, receiving recognition, and incentives in the company such as special perks. Leadership also affects the way evidence based practices are implemented. Having someone in a senior position within the organization to promote evidence based practice can influence