What is the main issue for your organization in addressing a solution to evidence-based nursing practice? Discuss what might be the first step in addressing and resolving this issue. Steps in Resolving EBP Issues
Sample Answer
Issues based in most organizations can be barriers to implementations of the evidence based practices. In my facility, the issue is common in other workplaces which is the nursing workload (Alatawi et al, 2020). A common nurse-patient ratio can be 8:1, therefore the workload can be daunting since the acuity of the patient can widely range. Many nurses provide feedback that the workload is almost unmanageable, therefore lowering the thought of attempting to stay current on evidence based practice to deliver better patient outcome. In the facility, they have implemented education through a job title which was created called the Infection Control/ Education Nurse, which her main focus is of course, infection control, but to also create ways to deliver education which can further increase patient outcome and better patient satisfaction. This has been a method to tackle the issue that has decreased the discern to attain research which may be indicated in the specialty of acute rehabilitation. Barriers that can also be conquered is the division of workload (Dagne, 2021), which can be done by lowering patient and nurse ratios. This allows more time to dedicate to education, while also allowing the nurse to deliver better patient care. The ratio is maintained by a matrix depending on current census, and what can be determined to be the necessary amount of staffing for a particular shift. Steps in Resolving EBP Issues
I believe most nurses know the benefits of implementing evidence-based practice into care. Not only does it improve the quality of care of the patient but it reduces costs and enhances the individual and professional development of nurses (McClay & Mileski, 2019). Although I believe many of the nurses in my organization know the benefits of evidence-based care, it is not implemented enough for a variety of reasons. One reason I believe EBP is not implemented as often as it should be in my organization is the high nurse turnover rate. 70% of the OR floor I work on is made up of travel nurses. These nurses usually leave after their contract is up meaning a constant rotation of new staff. It is difficult for nurses in this setting to implement change within an organization as many travel nurses don’t want to take the time to learn about the issues on the floor and research ways to implement evidence-based solutions to those problems. Most often these nurses know they are going to leave in the next 3-6 months so I don’t believe there is much motivation for these individuals to enact change within an organization. Steps in Resolving EBP Issues
Another issue I see is that many of the core staff are not familiar with the process of EBP and how to implement it. I believe the first step to addressing some of these issues in management and leadership educating staff on the available resources for staff in regard to EBP. We have many online resources and tools for staff to engage in research and an on-site library with literature to aid in that research. I think it would be beneficial for leadership to hold in-service sessions on how EBP works and can be implemented into practice. In the long term, I think it would be beneficial for my organization to highlight the opportunities they have for nurses to go back to school and obtain their BSN degree. I believe the BSN courses really prepare you to be more educated on EBP and make nurses more inclined to implement evidence-based research into practice. Steps in Resolving EBP Issues