Cochrane Reviews: An Oft-Overlooked Evidence Source for Nurses at the Bedside

By Amanda Anderson, a critical care nurse and graduate student in New York City currently doing a graduate placement at AJN.

“Research holding the torch of knowledge” (1896) by Olin Levi Warner. Library of Congress, Thomas Jefferson Building, Washington, D.C./Photo by Carol Highsmith, via Wikipedia

Long ago, in an ICU far away, I picked up the habit of saying, during rounds, “Well, you know, research suggests the practice…” I have trouble remembering who taught me this tactic, but it has always been a highly effective way of advocating for my patients.

The eyes of doctors, never ones to be silenced by a nurse who reads research, usually light up at the challenge.

I’ll admit that, for a while, many of my conversational citations came from ‘clinical pearls’ or tidbits I read from certifying organizations via social media. While my knowledge was based on credible sources, my analysis was topical, at best.

Then I started graduate school. Although my program isn’t a clinical one, the need to seek out evidence for class assignments intensified my practice of trying to apply research evidence at the bedside.

It’s tricky to find and discuss credible research as a bedside nurse. Services like Lexicomp and UpToDate, which most hospitals hold subscriptions to, compile […]

2016-11-21T13:02:38-05:00May 1st, 2015|Nursing, nursing perspective, nursing research|1 Comment
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Study Clarifies How Staff Nurses Use Research in Practice

By Sylvia Foley, AJN senior editor

Most health care professionals agree that it’s important to apply research findings to real-life practice. Indeed, several studies have shown that nurses place a high value on doing just that. Yet numerous barriers continue to prevent or hamper the implementation of evidence-based practice (EBP).

Table 4. ‘Of the tools available to you at work and/or home, which tools do you use?’ Table 4. ‘Of the tools available to you at work and/or home, which tools do you use?’

To learn more, Linda Yoder and colleagues surveyed nearly 800 staff nurses in an acute care multihospital system. They sought to determine the extent to which these RNs used research findings in their practice; what types of knowledge they used; and what personal, professional, and organizational factors enhanced or hindered their use of research. In one of this month’s two CE features, “Staff Nurses’ Use of Research to Facilitate Evidence-Based Practice,” Yoder and colleagues report on their findings. Here’s a short summary.

Methods: A cross-sectional, descriptive, online survey design was used. The survey, which asked about use of research findings in practice and EBP participation, was placed on the hospital system intranet.
Results: The forms of knowledge that staff nurses reported relying on most were their personal experience with patients, conferences, hospital policies and procedures, physician colleagues, and nursing peers. Although a variety of resources were available for help in locating research and implementing EBP, respondents reported many of the same […]

2017-07-27T14:44:50-04:00September 5th, 2014|Nursing, nursing perspective, nursing research|2 Comments
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AJN’s September Issue: Anaphylaxis at School, Central Line Care, EBP, More

SeptemberAJN’s September issue is now available on our Web site. Here’s a selection of what not to miss.

It’s back-to-school time, and on our cover this month is a photo of Head Start nursing supervisor Travia Williams weighing a student in the program’s classroom at Cocoa High School in Brevard County, Florida. The program provides enrolled children with screening, physicals, and other health care services.

According to the National Association of School Nurses, a third of all school districts in the United States have reduced nursing staff and a quarter don’t have any nurses at all. Yet there is the potential for more emergencies in school now than ever, with school nurses treating increasingly complex medical conditions and chronic illnesses. For more on the important role school nurses play in handling these health emergencies, see the In Our Community article, “Emergency Anaphylaxis at School.” And don’t miss a podcast interview with the author (this and other podcasts are accessible via the Behind the Article page on our Web site or, if you’re in our iPad app, by tapping the icon on the first page of the article).

Applying EBP to Practice. Despite the recognized importance of evidence-based practice (EBP), there continues to be a gap between the emergence of research findings and their application to practice. In this month’s original research article, “Staff Nurses’ Use […]

2016-11-21T13:04:00-05:00August 29th, 2014|career, nursing research|1 Comment
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How a Busy Hospital Reduced Its Rate of Hospital-Acquired Pressure Ulcers to Zero

By Sylvia Foley, AJN senior editor

A skin lesion monitoring form accompanies a patient. Photo courtesy of NHCH. A skin lesion monitoring form accompanies a patient. Photo courtesy of NHCH.

In 2009, when one of the world’s largest cardiac care hospitals experienced a spike in the number of surgeries performed and a corresponding rise in hospital-acquired pressure ulcers, many people were concerned. The hospital—Narayana Hrudayalaya Cardiac Hospital (NHCH) in Bangalore, India—soon initiated a program to address the problem, and nursing superintendent Rohini Paul was tasked with designing and implementing effective preventive strategies. In this month’s CE feature, “Sustaining Pressure Ulcer Best Practices in a High-Volume Cardiac Care Environment,” Paul and colleagues describe what happened next. Here’s a brief overview.

Baseline data showed that, over the five-month observation period, an average of 6% of all adult and pediatric surgical patients experienced a pressure ulcer while recovering in the NHCH intensive therapy unit (ITU). Phase 1 implementation efforts, which began in January 2010, focused on four areas: raising awareness, increasing education, improving documentation and communication, and implementing various preventive practices. Phase 2 implementation efforts, which began the following month, focused on changing operating room practices. The primary outcome measure was the weekly percentage of ITU patients with pressure ulcers.
By July 2010, that percentage was reduced to zero; as of April 1, 2014, the hospital has maintained this result. Elements that contributed significantly to the program’s success and sustainability include strong leadership, nurse and physician involvement, an […]

2017-07-27T14:45:11-04:00August 8th, 2014|nursing perspective|7 Comments
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AJN’s March Issue: New Series on Systematic Reviews, HIV Update, C. Diff on the Rise, Sexual Assault, More

AJN0314.Cover.OnlineAJN’s March issue is now available on our Web site. Here’s a selection of what not to miss, including two continuing education (CE) articles that you can access for free.

Advances in HIV testing and treatment. The photo on our cover, showing members of  Sexy With A Goal (SWAG), a program provided for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals affected by HIV and AIDS by the AIDS Service Center of New York City’s Lower East Side Peer Outreach Center, reflects the changing face of the AIDs epidemic. Thirty years ago, a diagnosis of HIV was tantamount to a death sentence. But the young men on our cover prove that this is no longer the case. With advances in treatment and patient advocacy, education, and support, HIV is now a chronic, manageable disease. A CE feature, “Nursing in the Fourth Decade of the HIV Epidemic,” discusses HIV epidemiology and policy in the United States, the HIV care cascade, advances in HIV testing and treatment, and how nurses can continue to have a positive impact on the HIV epidemic.

If you’re reading AJN on your iPad, you can watch a video describing one author’s early experience with an HIV-infected patient by tapping on the podcast icon on the first page. The video is also available on our Web site. A

New option for victims of sexual assault. Until recently, survivors of sexual assault were […]

2016-11-21T13:05:18-05:00February 28th, 2014|nursing perspective, nursing research|0 Comments
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Views expressed on the blog are solely those of the authors or persons quoted. They do not necessarily reflect AJN’s views or those of Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams and Wilkins.
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