Long-time nurse managers or directors are the biggest barriers to implementing new evidence-based care practices, a survey finds.
The longer a registered nurse has worked in the healthcare industry, the less likely she or he is to have confidence to try evidence-based approaches to care, according to results of an Ohio State University survey of 1,000 registered nurses. However, nurses who have had more education, such as those with bachelor’s or master’s degrees, are more likely to be open to evidence-based practices, researchers asserted.
Nurses ranked resistance from nurse managers as the top barrier to providing evidence-based care.
In this survey, evidence-based practices mean making decisions about patient care based on evidence produced through clinical trials and studies. For example, it’s common for physicians to prescribe antidepressants for mild-to-moderate depression, even though studies have shown that psychotherapy is more effective than medication.
New graduates, who have learned to take an evidence-based approach to care, often encounter a “‘this is the way we do it here’ culture,” lead investigator Bernadette Melnyk, Ph.D., R.N., said.
The Institute of Medicine has said 90% of all patient-care decisions should be based on evidence by 2020. The research was in September’s Journal of Nursing Administration.
From the October 01, 2012 Issue of McKnight's Long-Term Care News
