Discussion: 6051 Using Health Information Technology as a Source of Evidence-Based Practice
Before the digital revolution, health information technology
supplied very limited support for evidence-based practice. If nurses wanted to
be informed about cutting-edge research, their best bet was to either subscribe
to leading journals or make periodic trips to the library. With the
establishment of research databases, however, nurses became empowered to learn
about and facilitate interdisciplinary and translational research. Databases
are just one example of how health information technology supports
evidence-based practice.
To prepare:
Read the following scenario from the text (McGonigle &
Mastrian, 2011, p. 482):
Twelve-hour shifts are problematic for patient and nurse
safety, and yet hospitals continue to keep the 12-hour shift schedule. In 2004,
the Institute of Medicine (Board on Health Care Services & Institute of
Medicine, 2004) published a report that referred to studies as early as 1988
that discussed the negative effects of rotating shifts on intervention accuracy.
Workers with 12-hour shifts realized more fatigue than workers on 8-hour
shifts. In another study done in Turkey by Ilhan, Durukan, Aras, Turkcuoglu,
and Aygun (2006), factors relating to increased risk for injury were age of 24
or less, less than 4 years of nursing experience, working in the surgical
intensive care units, and working for more than 8 hours.
Consider how the resources identified in the scenario above
could influence an organization’s practice.
Select an issue in your practice that is of concern to you.
Using health information technology, locate at least three evidence-based
practice resources that address your concern and that could possibly inform
further action.
Discussion: NURS 6051 Using Health Information Technology as a Source of Evidence-Based Practice
By Day 3
Post a description of your practice concern. Outline how you
used health information technology to locate evidence-based practices that
address this concern. Cite and include insights from the resources. Analyze how
health information technology supports evidence-based practice.
Read a selection of your colleagues’ responses. Focus
particularly on those questions raised to which you can add comments based on
shared experiences or situations. Consider how your colleagues’ postings
reflect and/or differ from your own perceptions and opinions. Review the
Learning Resources for any clarification needed before responding.
By Day 6
Respond to at least two of your colleagues on two different
days using one or more of the following approaches:
Ask a probing question, substantiated with additional
background information, evidence or research.
Share an insight from having read your colleagues’ postings,
synthesizing the information to provide new perspectives.
Offer and support an alternative perspective using readings
from the classroom or from your own research in the Walden Library.
Validate an idea with your own experience and additional
research.
Make a suggestion based on additional evidence drawn from
readings or after synthesizing multiple postings.
Expand on your colleagues’ postings by providing additional
insights or contrasting perspectives based on readings and evidence.
