Integration of Evidence-Based Practice into Professional Nursing Research Paper

Integration of Evidence-Based Practice into Professional Nursing Practice - Research Paper Example Evidence based practice for nursing implies not merely using only the best research evidence in patient care decisions, but also includes the factors of clinical expertise, patient values and preferences or circumstances, and clinical assessment and history of the patient in these decisions (Finkelman & Kenner, 2010, p.380-381). Presented here is an example of evidence based clinical nursing practice. A patient was admitted to the ICU subsequent to a cardiac arrest. The patient arrived at the ICU on a mechanical ventilator, basically stabilized, and appeared to have no problems of ventilation and oxygenation. After a short while the clinical experience of the staff nurse prompted her to call for support from an advanced nurse practitioner (APN), as she was not happy with the increased effort that the patient was showing in breathing. The APN arrived and found the patient struggling slightly in breathing, and the first impulse was to check, if the ventilator settings were okay and the ventilator was functioning satisfactorily. All was fine on that front, and though there seemed no reason for alarm, as the patient did not appear hemodynamically compromised, the APN decided to examine the patient closely relying on the experience of the staff nurse.