Discussion: Heightened importance of evidence-based practice

Considering the heightened importance of evidence-based practice in healthcare settings, incorporating evidence-based practice into the nursing curriculum, especially in baccalaureate programs is essential because this is a first step to prepare students for their professional role as an RN, and the undergraduate nursing students are the ones who will spend the most time with patients at their bedside providing direct care” (Martin, 2011). Another essential component of EBP integration into practice is that new graduates are more passionate and interested in changing or improving current practice skills and techniques and have fresh eyes to see what is not working or what could be improved upon. Older nurses who have been working for a while may have seen changes already and do not want to develop new ideas. Perhaps they felt in the past that the changes did not affect patient outcome and so decided to go back to the old ways. Perhaps the older nurse is too job tried to accept new changes and are not comfortable with the new way of doing things. As a new graduate, it is our responsibility and role to implement these changes if the evidence points to patient benefits and lower cost reduction to the health care facility. There are many ways of facilitating changes but testing out the culture and climate of the unit is very important and making sure the majority of the staff will buy into the changes. You can present all the evidence in the world but if you staff is not willing or nervous about the changes, the EBP project will not go far.

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