How has Evidence-based Practice Evolved?
Evidence-based practice has been in use since the 18th century, whereby it was used during the war times by nurses while tending to war patients. Recording patterns and care activities was a brilliant step to ensure or push for changes to be implemented in the health facilities. Thus, this saw to improve the quality of healthcare provided to patients and improve the nurses’ skills. During this era, the method of recording used was the use of hand-drawn pies, tables, and charts to present statistical data (Mackey & Bassendowski, 2017). The use of evidence-based nursing has accelerated and evolved; that is, it has been made one of the strategies in the health industry, and further studies have been carried about its use and benefits in improving health care. This has transformed the nursing industry by encouraging nurses not to rely on the traditional methods but emphasize the outcome rather than the process. This data-driven approach has brightened the nursing career from being just an assistant to taking the role of innovator and scientist (McMenamin et al., 2019).
Advantages and Disadvantages
The adoption of evidence-based practice has contributed to improving patient outcomes by focusing on the safety of the patient and the provision of quality medical care. Whereby patients can receive individualized medical treatment, ensuring that they are not misdiagnosed, ensuring they are not put at further health risk. This has also sufficiently reduced the cost of patient care while enhancing the skills and knowledge of medical providers in their expert fields (Mackey & Bassendowski, 2017). One of the disadvantages of evidence-based practice is the lack of a worldwide inclusion framework; thus, most third-world countries are behind in implementing it into the healthcare systems. Therefore, the framework should be adjusted to fit all social, political, and cultural contexts to facilitate easy integration in all healthcare institutions.
Reference
Mackey, A., & Bassendowski, S. (2017). The history of evidence-based practice in nursing education and practice. Journal of Professional Nursing, 33(1), 51-55. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S875572231630028X
McMenamin, A., Sun, C., Prufeta, P., & Raso, R. (2019). The evolution of evidence-based practice. Nursing management, 50(9), 14-19. https://journals.lww.com/nursingmanagement/fulltext/2019/09000/the_evolution_of_evidence_based_practice.5.aspx
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