One nursing specialty I am currently interested is the emergency department. I would like to learn more about the organization system of the ED as it a very fast paced environment. I would also like to learn more about how nurses figure out how to prioritize their patients in the ED. Another specialty I am currently interested in is Orthopedics as I have had a few orthopedic surgeries and I want to be able to help patients in their recovery. I’d like to learn more about what the nurse’s job is throughout the whole surgery process.
One assumption I have about evidence-based practice is that it is used to improve the quality and delivery of patient care. I have briefly learned about evidence-based practice in a few classes previously and have assumed it is a way to provide good and safe patient care. Another assumption I have about evidence-based practice in nursing is that it is based upon research, as thorough research can help find new and safe methods for improving patient care. The next assumption I have about evidence practice is that nurses can use their experience and ideas that have previously been successful to work on solving patient care problems, as I have seen a little bit of this in clinical.
I believe that I will apply what I learn in this course to my nursing career and use that knowledge frequently. In the classroom I think that using my knowledge about evidence-based practice will help me on tests and case studies, as I will keep patient safety and the best way to deliver care in mind. In clinical and in the future when I will be working as a nurse I will use evidence based practice by using previous experience, ideas, and research from other nurses to provide good quality care to my patient and help solve problems on the unit.
Amy, there has been much research into the best methods of triaging and prioritization in the ED – and I don’t think we’ve still found the answers! This might be a good topic to explore. EBP can definitely help you with the case studies in your clinical courses (and even in Leadership and Community/Public Health) – it helps answer the “why” questions.