In my professional setting in the emergency department, I use evidence-based practice frequently. One example of when I use it the most is in patients with cardiac arrests. New studies are always coming out about which methods and drugs have the highest success rate in resusitating patients. I try to adjust my practice accordingly when new information comes out proving better methods. 

C1. My current definition of evidenced-base practice is the same as it was before, but perhaps more detailed now. My updated definition would be that evidence-based practice is practice based on evidence that is of quality, actual research and not non-research, and how up-to-date the research is.  These are essential parts to the definition of evidenced-based practice.

C1a. The program assisted in defining my definition of evidenced-based practice greatly. I did not know much about the different types of research and how to tell if research articles are of good quality prior to the EBP class.

C1b.  The artifacts in my portfolio that are a good example of EBP is my EBP project task 2 paper.

C1b1. The artifact listed in C1b. supports my definition because it helped to make my definition. Writing that paper helped me learn a lot about research and how to find it properly so that I can better myself as a professional nurse.

C2a. Thanks to EBP, I am now able to evaluate primary research, which in turn helps my nursing practice. I know how to spot the relevancy of the research I am reading and determine if it is reliable and believable. Relevancy is how appropriate the research is to the topic. Believability is how credible the research is. Before EBP, I did not know this and how important it was to research. If the research you are reading isn’t relevant or believable, then it is not quality research. Quality improvement and research are very similar, but they are not the same thing. Research helps enable quality improvement. You need research to improve the quality of a practice. Primary research is the initial research that generates fresh and new data. Secondary research is analysis of primary research that has already been done. Primary research is important in clinical practice because it helps discover new techniques and procedures that are better than current practice. Secondary research is important in clinical practice because you can measure your own policies and practices up against what current research is saying. Secondary research is much easier to read and understand usually than primary research.

C2b. My experience in the program helped me to achieve excellence in EBP by teaching me more about quality of research and the different types of research. I had a basic knowledge of EBP prior to the course, but after I can say that I am much more knowledgeable on the topic. I now know how to sort out different types of research, evaluate the quality, and find quality research about different subjects to apply to my nursing practice.