Empirically-Based Evidence and How it Applies to

¶ … empirically-based evidence and how it applies to nursing. The definition of the word "evidence" is a core concept in law and can be used in different ways to either corroborate or refute a particular issue. Given this understanding of what evidence is I then concluded that a complete understanding of what evidence actually is rarely if ever occurs in the legal realm, whereas in the healthcare realm the notion of evidence has been interpreted to mean some type of proof that is independently verified.

However, even in the healthcare realm so-called "evidence" is rarely absolute. The point is that given my understanding of the word evidence there is no one form of evidence that is inherently superior to another, even though historically notions of empirically -- based evidence in healthcare has taken a different attitude.

With respect to empirically-based evidence, the healthcare industry initially placed greater value quantitative evidence (research) with the randomized controlled trial (RCT) being the initial gold standard; however, it has become clear to me that reviews and meta-analytical research contain more statistical power than single sample studies and these types of research should assume the pinnacle of empirical -- based evidence (further supporting the idea that the notion of evidence is relative).

I also think that the historically relatively higher value based on quantitative research has led to the neglect of other forms of evidence in terms of both its exposure to healthcare practitioners and its perceived value as important empirical evidence that can contribute to improvements in clinical practice. As an attempt to become well-rounded I would like to investigate more case studies, qualitative, and quasi-experimental findings I would to see a greater balance of these in graduate programs.

This class has made me think about thinking, something I never really did before. There are different types of knowledge; therefore, there are different classes of empirical evidence. I would like to see deeper investigations into the different types of knowledge and how knowledge is applicable as empirical evidence depending on its type and on the circumstances. For instance, propositional knowledge is formal, explicit, derived from research and academia, and concerned with being generalized, whereas non-propositional knowledge is informal, implicit, and derived from experience and practice.

This type of professional -- craft knowledge is typically not generalizable beyond the specific case or situation. This class has made me think and I can think of different several areas of empirical evidence: Research evidence typically has priority over other forms of evidence and certainly evidence from research is important; however, research evidence is not as pristine as is commonly thought. It constantly changes based on new research findings. Definitive studies are very rare.

Secondly, while the scientific method is theoretically an objective process, this is rarely the case in practice. Research findings are socially and historically constructed and are dynamic and influenced by a number of different variables in contexts. Thus, research evidence, while extremely important, may not apply to a specific decision-making instance and needs to be evaluated based on the context to which it is applied.

Knowledge from experience, in this case clinical experience, has been sort of down-played as being inherently a weaker and biased knowledge compared to the large body of clinical studies available. However, I claim that in order to deliver individually -- based effective healthcare professional craft knowledge is not a form of knowledge to be ignored and that official craft knowledge should be combined with formal research knowledge in order to guide decision-making. Another source of evidence/knowledge comes from the knowledge of clients, patients, families, and carriers.

We should consider that any type of intervention will affect certain types of individuals or their families differently. Different people have different notions of being ill and what being healthy are. For example, a certain technique may have very good quality RCT evidence that recommends its use; however, the patient's insurance may not cover it, the patient's experience of the intervention may not match the RCT's general description of the experience, or the patient or the.