Evidence vs. Research-Based Practices According

Evidence vs. research-Based practices

According to the Behavioral Institute (2010), research-based practice "is a method for conducting research that ensures the research involves rigorous, systematic, and objective procedures to obtain reliable and valid knowledge," by using the scientific method of hypothesis testing. Research-based practice uses systematic methods of data-gathering and observation. Experiments often make use of controls, repeat testings, and other quality control measures. Scientific, rigorous data analyses "that are adequate to test the stated hypothesis and justify the general conclusion" are deployed (Scientifically-based research, 2010, Behavioral Institute). The measurement and observational methods that are used "provide valid data across evaluators and observers and across multiple measurements and observations" (Scientifically-based research, 2010, Behavioral Institute).

Evidence-based practice is also based upon research -- yet it has been subject to an additional, rigorous test -- the 'what works' test, in the ordinary, day-today-life of nursing practice. As well as having "gone through rigorous research," evidence-base practice has a "demonstrated a record of success" in treating patients and there is also "reliable, trustworthy and valid evidence to suggest the program is effective" in the real-life field of nursing (Scientifically-based research, 2010, Behavioral Institute).

As someone who has worked on a medical/surgical floor of a hospital in an urban setting, I am intimately acquainted with the difference between research and evidence-based practice. While research-based practice may work in the laboratory, ultimately nurses must test the methods used in the field, to see if they are useful on the day-to-day life of a unit floor. That is why research is often conducted in a separate fashion, compared ordinary, daily care, although research undeniably underlines the development of a nurse's standard operating procedures and administration of treatment. Ultimately, a BSN's practices are in support of both research and evidence-based methods, but in the nurse's day-to-day life, evidence-based practice is usually at the forefront of his or her consciousness.

Question 2: Joint Commission

According to the Joint Commission Standards (2010), nursing leadership involves creating a supportive environment that promotes high quality care and a team approach. However, in actual practice, the pressured environment of a nursing unit is not always conducive to promoting collaboration between staff members. This is not entirely due to the nurse's fault. Nurses, especially in large, busy, urban medical-surgical units such as the one in which I worked, are often forced to care for a high volume of patients, and work back-to-back shifts. It is difficult to take time to mentor a fellow nurse on an understaffed unit. Furthermore, tempers are often short, and tensions between colleagues, particularly between experienced nurses and younger colleagues still 'learning the ropes,' can be strained.

Of course, such an attitude is highly counter-productive. The reason tensions run so high on nursing units is largely because of under-staffing. Poor relationships between older and younger nurses simply increase the high rate of attrition of younger nurses. When older and/or more experienced nurses schedule younger nurses for more unpleasant shifts, they may 'win the battle' of gaining privileges, but 'lose the war' to improve conditions for themselves, if they drive more nurses from the profession. As more and more nurses age out of the profession, it is essential to increase the numbers of people who stay with nursing in the future, and this requires creating a more cohesive unit friendly to nurses at all stages of experience.