Evidence-based Practice

According to the international literature the term evidence-based practice in nursing is synonymous with professional, rational thinking that enables transparent, responsible, rationally articulated and legally defensible nursing actions. However, the questions of what constitutes evidence, who decides on the validity of the various types of evidence and how evidence-based practice can be integrated into Greek nursing are highly controversial. The aims of this paper are to transpose the term evidencebased practice into the Greek setting and to provide a historical review and analysis of the term, with the overall objective of integrating its core concepts into Greek nursing practice. A literature search was made in the CINAHL search engine and articles and books on the relevant topic were hand-selected and analysed. The historical overview and analysis of the term evidencebased practice reveals the construction of two different schools of thought, based on; a) evidence emerging from randomized controlled trials, and b) evidence emerging from reflective analysis of specific clinical cases. The aims and objectives of Greek nursing would be best served by adoption of the second school of thought, related to the concept of evidence based on clinical experience. Greek nurses should be educated adequately and facilitated appropriately in the clinical setting so as to be able to practice their profession using reflective techniques. This will enable nursing practitioners to make a critical assessment of the range of evidence and its uniqueness for each patient, in order to plan their clinical practice using the evidence that is most relevant for that particular patient.

Category: Volume 48, N 1
Hits: 491 Hits
Created Date: 15-03-2009
Authors: Stefanos Mantzoukas