Understanding the Origins of Evidence-Based Practice
Nursing Research
There is perhaps no doubt that the field of nursing has come a long way, with regards to making strides in the betterment of healthcare provision. The reason why such has been the case stems from the fact that previously regarded facts have continued to be challenged based on the changing evidence from practice (Aliakbari et al., 2015). It is, however, noteworthy that Florence Nightingale, a nurse who played a crucial role in the Crimean war, founded what is essentially the foundation on which the nursing practice lies. She argued that the nursing practice had to distance itself from mainstream medicine as it was widely involved with manipulating the patient’s environment to influence certain outcomes.
This essentially went on to birth the non-nursing theories such as the Martha Roger theory which was involved with creating a favorable outside environment to influence patient recovery, and the Virginia Satir theory which made a case on the involvement of therapeutic practices for best practice (Rogers, 1994; Berrey, 2014). Both of these theories, as do others, draw their credibility from essentially conducting research, applying gathered data through its utilization, and learning better practices through making observations on which methodologies work best and which ones do not.
Sources of Evidence for Nursing Practice
It can be argued that the entire nursing profession is based on these theoreticalunderpinnings that influenced the introduction of research as drivers for authentic and informed practice. It is noteworthy, however, that before the introduction of research kitties for the attainment of better quality research in the field of nursing, much of what that was being taught had been primarily self-centered on the illness itself and the practice of nursing as opposed to focusing on how other external factors could play a much bigger role in the attainment of favorable outcomes for patients.
Research does aid in bringing an issue of concern into sharp focus. It relies on evidence brought forward from a series of clinical research trials and other authentic sources of information. Data can, therefore, can be gotten from different sources easily, compiled, and organized to give voice to the outcomes through the emergence of themes and patterns. Research utilization is conducted through putting recommendations from the research into practice as a panacea for the problem. However, according to (Mitchel et al., 2010),it must be noted that often these recommendations do not always produce the best results and have to be manipulated through findings exchange to make comparisons and hence drawing the best options for best practice. This, therefore, is dependent upon ideas and recommendations for practice that have undergone through rigorous testing to ascertain that which brings out the best results.
References
Aliakbari, F., Parvin, N., Mohammad, H., and Haghani, F. (2015). Learning theories application in nursing education. J Educ Health Promot, 4, 2.
Berrey, S. (2014). “Application of Non-Nursing Theories “Beck” and “Satir.” Retrieved from http://www.Prezi.com/f0lzsqegwdbv/application-of-non-nursing-theories-beck-satir
Rogers, M. (1994). The science of unitary human beings: current perspectives. Nursing Science Quarterly, 7, 33-35.
Mitchell, S.A., Fisher, C.A., Hastings, C.E., Silverman, L.B., Wallen, G.R., (2010). Thematic analysis of theoretical models for translational science in nursing: mapping the field. Nursing Outlook, 58 (6), 287-300
Nightingale, F. (1969). Notes on Nursing: What It Is and What It Is Not. New York, NY: Dove
