Changing approach in nursing

Kimberly Morris    2 posts   Re: Topic 10 DQ 2  Over the past couple decades, nursing has taken a turn becoming more knowledge driven (Stevens, 2013). We are now expected not only to just care for our patients but also educate them and increase their health outcomes by recognizing and knowing what care would be best for them. We are now supposed to make recommendations to providers where before we just made sure patients were comfortable and their needs were met. Because the role of the nurse is changing and becoming a much more active participant in patient care, it is important for the nurse to continue to seek new information and advanced practices by utilizing evidence-based practices.  One way in which I will continue to integrate evidence into my practice is by using the literature review strategy. Our facility is currently doing a literature review four step problem solving on falls. We have currently had a large number of patient falls on our floor and we are doing evidence-based research to see if we can find a practice which would work for us to help decrease the number of falls. The second way I will integrate evidence would be to continue to read and research on my own time. If there is a topic which I feel I need to be educated on, I will look at journal articles or attend conferences or trainings to help increase my knowledge of the subject. This will help me in patient care and will give me necessary information to increase the health outcomes of my patients. If I notice an area within my department in which I feel we need to be better educated or I come across information which could be of interest to my coworkers, I will share this information with them in our weekly huddle or our monthly staff meetings. If I start doing this, maybe it would encourage others to do the same, thus encouraging increased use of evidence-based practice.  Obstacles which would challenge this is lack of interest from my coworkers. If they do not buy in to the idea of sharing knowledge, then they will not listen or learn. But I feel we have a team which is always looking at how to grow and how to become better. The manager of our floor is a driving force behind this. She is continually wanting us to move forward in our careers and encouraging us to learn and become better nurses. She is a great manager and encourager.  Reference  Stevens, K. (2013). The impact of evidence-based practice in nursing and the next big ideas. The Online   Journal of Issues in Nursing. Vol. 18, No. 2, Manuscript 4. doi:10.3912/OJIN.Vol18No02Man04