Steps in Evidence-Based Practice in Nursing 

Steps in Evidence-Based Practice in Nursing  All that said, EBP is founded on six key steps as illustrated below.   Step 1: Asking an Answerable Question Clinical nursing practice requires the nurse to find answers to treatment questions. This entails asking the appropriate PICO question for nursing. In this, practice may demand answers to questions or issues such as “most effective”, “quickest”, or “best” medication for a particular disease or condition. This practice requires you to get an evidence-based answer. As such, the first step towards getting this answer entails asking the appropriate clinical question. It is evident that clinical nursing questions could be complex, wide, and multi-leveled. For instance, a nurse may face a question like, “which asthma treatment is the most effective, fastest, and has the least side effects?” Answering such clinical questions requires a methodological approach. Markedly, the “PICO” framework is the scientifically approved approach for answering nursing questions. This framework stands for:   P: Patient or Population I: Intervention or Indicator C: Comparison or Control O: Outcome T: Time  

• Patient or Population looks at the patient(s) characteristics, including gender, age, or condition.

 

• Intervention or Indicator reviews elements such as exposure, diagnostic test, or therapy you are interested in for a particular condition of population.

 

• Comparison or Control looks at the alternative to be contrasted with the identified intervention or indicator.

 

• Outcome stands for the measurable results you intend to realize.

 

• Time entails the duration within which the outcomes should be monitored or revealed.

  Notably, there are five categories of these questions that include:   Therapy/Intervention: These are questions that address the treatment of a disability or an illness.   Diagnosis: These questions address the process of identifying and establishing the cause and nature of an injury or a disease through clinical evaluation.   Etiology: Questions under this category address the origins or causes of a disease.   Prognosis: These questions address the prediction of a disease’s course.   Meaning: Questions in this category address how an individual experiences a phenomenon.  

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