Creating a Culture of Evidence-Based Practice

Creating a Culture of Evidence-Based Practice

An abundance of evidence can be found on almost any medical issue or health topic. Often, the availability of information is not the concern, but rather nurses struggle with how to convey the evidence to others and change practices to better reflect the evidence. Deep-rooted organizational cultures and policies can make some resistant to change, even to changes that can vastly improve the quality, effectiveness, and efficiency of health care. However, there are many strategies that nurses can employ to bring about changes to practice.

In this Discussion, you focus on how to create an organizational culture that supports evidence-based practice.

To prepare:

Review the information in this weeks Learning Resources. Examine the various suggestions for promoting an organizational culture that embraces the use of EBP.

Reflect on your own organizations (or one in which you have worked) support of evidence-based practice. Examine how culture and policies impact the adoption of changes to practice based on evidence. What barriers exist?

Consider the models and suggestions for promoting evidence-based practice featured in this weeks Learning Resources. Identify models and suggestions that would work well in your organization.

Reflect on the significance of evidence-based practice in health care. What responsibility do nurses have to promote EBP and change practices to better reflect evidence and research findings?

Reflect on how nurses can disseminate findings from evidence-based practice research.

Post on or before Day 3 an evaluation of your organizations use of EBP and how it is furthered or hindered by organizational culture and policies. Describe how you could disseminate the findings. Propose a strategy for strengthening the culture of EBP within the organization. Discuss a nurses responsibility to further the use of EBP, providing a rationale supported by specific information from the Learning Resources.

 

Creating a Culture of Evidence-Based Practice (EBP)

There is diverse information on evidence in health topics and medical issues, nurses have abundance of medical information, the challenge is adopting the information so that it can contribute in changing the practices and in showing evidence to other medical practitioners. Organizational policies and cultures play an influential role in resisting the changes or supporting the changes. Some of the changes have the capability of improving the effectiveness, quality and efficiency attached to the health care facilities.

An organizational culture is shaped by the beliefs, shared values and norms displayed in an organization. The strategy is supported by the members of the organization once it is aligned to the organizational culture of the health care facility (Gale & Schaffer, 2009). EBP is part of the strategies designed to adopt changes in improving the patient care. Health care facilities have different strategies that can be used in promoting and facilitating EBP. Common strategies of supporting EBP are connected to facilitation, managerial support and a receptive culture among others (Marshall et al., 2003). Leaders in the healthcare centers are struggling in balancing EBP and the vision of the organizations.

Common barriers to the adoption of EBP are attached to lack of time, inadequate supplies/equipments, limited staff, unsupportive organizational culture and insufficient time. EBP is facilitated by a supportive organizational culture, readiness for the organization to adopt changes, personal interest in EBP among the nurses and in addressing the needs of the patients. In adapting to EBP changes, issues of facilitators and barriers in adopting EBP must be addressed.

Strategies and policies emerge from the organizational culture; Nurses can engage various strategies in advancing changes related to EBP. Organizational policies and cultures play an influential role in resisting the changes or supporting the changes

References

Gale, B. P. & Schaffer, M. A. (2009). Organizational Readiness for Evidence-Based Practice. JONA: Journal of Nursing Administration , 91 – 97.

Marshall, M. N., Mannion, R. & Nelson, E. et al. (2003). Managing change in the culture of general practice: qualitative case studies in primary care trusts. BMJ , 599–602.