Write a 3-4 page report that illustrates your ability to apply and develop evidence-based practices to specific patient care technologies and clinical questions

• Write a 3-4 page report that illustrates your ability to apply and develop evidence-based practices to specific patient care technologies and clinical questions.

Introduction

The master’s-prepared nurse will encounter myriad clinical problems and questions throughout their career. A number of these clinical issues will be new or unfamiliar to nurses when they encounter them in the course of their practice. In these situations, it is imperative that nurses understand the key criteria and processes for applying an evidence-based approach to their practice. Additionally, understanding the ethics and strategies involved in building a bridge between general EBP best practices and specific clinical issues is key in the master’s-prepared nurse’s contributions to improved efficacy and quality of care. Also, the contemporary nurse needs to understand the ways in which patient care technologies can generate data that can be used to develop clinical questions and inform evidence-based approaches.

Nurses are constantly seeking ways to improve practice and patient care outcomes. Any changes we make, however, should be based on evidence. How do health care providers identify appropriate questions for determining the quality of the evidence to support a change in practice?

The resources for this assessment will help you to explore content to assist in identifying a practice or clinical problem and critiquing published research reports. You will discuss study design in relation to the development of questions to guide the development of EBP. Grove et al. (2015) suggest the following guidelines to assist in critiquing the problems, purposes, objectives, questions, hypotheses, and variables in published research reports. This critique is an important component of developing questions that can be used to guide direct and indirect patient care practice improvements.

• Identify published research reports in peer-reviewed journals using a defined practice problem or topic.
  • Critique the significance of these research reports in relation to the defined problem.
  • Differentiate among the types of research in published studies that could be used to generate practice questions.
  • Critique the quality of research design and outcomes presented in published studies.
  • Differentiate between the types of variables and patient care indicators in published research reports.
  • Critique the conceptual and operational definitions of variables in published studies.

The master’s-prepared nurse will encounter myriad clinical problems and questions throughout their career. A number of these clinical issues will be new or unfamiliar to nurses when they encounter them in the course of their practice. In these situations, it is imperative that nurses understand the key criteria and processes for applying an evidence-based approach to their practice. Additionally, understanding the ethics and strategies involved in building a bridge between general EBP best practices and specific clinical issues is key in the master’s-prepared nurse’s contributions to improved efficacy and quality of care. Also, the contemporary nurse needs to understand the ways in which patient care technologies can generate data that can be used to develop clinical questions and inform evidence-based approaches.

Reference

Grove, S. K., Gray, J. R., & Burns, N. (2015). Understanding nursing research: Building an evidence-based practice (6th ed.). Elsevier/Saunders.

Preparation

As you prepare to complete this assessment, you may want to think about other related issues to deepen your understanding or broaden your viewpoint. You are encouraged to consider the questions below and discuss them with a fellow learner, a work associate, an interested friend, or a member of your professional community. Note that these questions are for your own development and exploration and do not need to be completed or submitted as part of your assessment.

• What are the most relevant sources for best practices with regard to evidence-based practice strategies for your current position and care environment?
  • What are the most relevant evidence-based approaches? 
    • How do you develop criteria that help to guide evidence-based practices?
  • What is the role of scholarship in developing the capacity for evidence-based practice?
  • How do you use scholarly practice to evaluate evidence?
  • What is a relevant clinical question that would benefit from an evidence-based approach? 
    • What sources from the literature or case studies would help you better define this question?
  • How do ethical practices and regulatory guidelines impact your approach to leveraging technology in EBP development?

Scenario

Nurses must be able to evaluate sources of data and define a process for evaluating the development of evidence-based practices (EBP). In addition, they must then be able to apply research to a clinical setting. Think about a clinical question in your current practice, or in an area of nursing practice in which you see yourself in the future. What are the most relevant evidence-based practice considerations to help address that question?

For this assessment, choose an evidence-based practice that employs a specific health or patient care technology. You may use the following to if they are helpful to complete your research.

• Database Guide: CINAHL Complete.
  • Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. (2020). Fact sheets. https://www.ahrq.gov/research/findings/factsheets/index.html

Instructions

Note: The main bullet points below correspond to the grading criteria in the Evidence-Based Practice Application Scoring Guide, so be sure to address each point. The sub-bullets are there to guide you toward meeting each criterion. You may also want to review the performance level descriptions for each criterion to see how your work will be assessed.

• Analyze the criteria and process used for evidence-based nursing practice. 
  • What is an evidence-based approach?
  • What are the steps in the process for developing an evidence-based practice?
  • What criteria are used to develop evidence-based practices?
  • Explain the importance of effective scholarship and information for evidence-based nursing practice. 
    • What is the role of scholarship and evidence in developing evidence-based nursing practices?
    • How is evidence evaluated?
  • Describe a clinical question that can be addressed with evidence-based patient care technology. 
    • Search the literature for an exemplar article of evidence-based nursing using a patient care technology of your choice.
  • Evaluate the ethical and regulatory implications that impact implementation of patient care technology. 
    • Discuss how you would implement the evidence-based patient care technology for the selected clinical problem in your clinical agency, utilizing appropriate regulatory and ethical standards.
  • Write clearly and concisely, with correct use of spelling, grammar, punctuation, and mechanics.
  • Integrate relevant and credible sources of evidence to support assertions, correctly formatting citations and references using current APA style.

Additional Requirements

• Length of submission: 3–4 typed, double-spaced pages, not including the title and reference pages. Your report should be thorough, but concise. No abstract is required for this assessment.
  • Number of references: Cite a minimum of 3–5 sources of scholarly or professional evidence. Resources should be no more than five years old.
  • APA formatting: Use the APA Style Paper Tutorial [DOCX] to help you in writing and formatting your analysis.

Competencies Measured

By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the course competencies through the following assessment scoring guide criteria:

• Competency 2: Explain the importance of effective scholarship and evidence-based information in the development of information technologies. 
  • Analyze the criteria and process used for evidence-based nursing practice.
  • Explain the importance of effective scholarship and information for evidence-based nursing practice.
  • Competency 3: Analyze the impact of technology on patient care delivery. 
    • Describe a clinical question that can be addressed with evidence-based patient care technology.
  • Competency 4: Explain how ethical protections can be implemented in research and evidence-based nursing practice. 
    • Evaluate the ethical and regulatory implications that impact implementation of the patient care technology.
  • Competency 5: Communicate effectively across disciplines, demonstrating respect for self and others. 
    • Write clearly and concisely, with correct use of spelling, grammar, punctuation, and mechanics.
    • Integrate relevant and credible sources of evidence to support assertions, correctly formatting citations and references using current APA style.