Evidence Based Practices: A Case Study

Certainly all of us are interested in providing the best care for our patients, whereas ensuring that they receive quality treatment and in a timely manner. Likewise, to provide optimal care and a decreased length of stay, reducing their cost should also be considered. All of these concerns are known as “Evidence based practices,” or as to say, the use of EBP it must be useful. To be useful, evidence should enable you to do your job better: better outcomes for your patients and better professional satisfaction for you. (Warren 2015)
At my institution, each unit has their own set of best practice guidelines published on the intranet as well as a hard copy binder located at the charge nurses desk. Fortunately, I have actually read and used it

on many occasions and found the information contained in our best practice manual to be extremely useful several times. Our EBP has been established as “Best practice” and is set forth by the core measures adopted by the Institute of Medicine and the Joint Commission. In 2010, the Institute of Medicine provided a vision that all clinical decisions would be evidence based by 2020. (Makic 2016). To speak to the dilemma of how I am going to keep up with EBP in the future and how long the changes will take for integration. Perhaps this is not a dilemma at all. In order for change to take place there has to be a culture of change. A culture of change must be fostered and cultivated in order for it to grow and flourish.
Furthermore, due to the retiring of all of the “baby boomers” in our current workforce and the increasing amount of new nurses replacing them. Robin Schaeffe wrote in the Arizona Nurse that the shortage of nurses in the US alone will be over 285,000 in the next five years and that nearly half a million nurses will retire. (Schaeffe 2013) I surmise that this change in the workforce will institute future acceleration of EBP culture in our lifetime. Therefore, beyond reading up to date nursing journals published in my specific nursing discipline. I could reason it would be competent to read more about the Joint Commissions progress and recommendations in a regular time frame as I await and embrace a culture of change.