Evidence-based practice in perioperative nursing

Abstract

Evidence-based practice provides a helpful framework for clinicians in perioperative settings to use research in their practice settings. This article discusses the evolution of practice patterns within perioperative settings and the movement toward evidence-based decision making. A discussion of how evidence-based protocols are developed and established is also provided. A number of pertinent Web-based and print resources are described, and specific examples of available clinical practice guidelines are provided. Health care clinicians and providers make patient care decisions based on traditions, clinician expertise, personal experiences, or an author’s expert opinion rather than research findings. Consider the fact that many current health care fundamentals and procedural textbooks do not reference or incorporate evidence in a consistent manner. Furthermore, many practices in the operating room and other perioperative settings emerged from efforts to try to improve the environment of care and patient outcomes without the benefit of standard research methods. On occasion, clinicians collected evidence and analyzed it in a systematic manner, but most often, they changed practice based on anecdotal information, limited data collection, or practitioner preference. For example, the use of surgical gloves emerged as a practice to protect hands from the skin injuries experienced when practitioners dipped their hands in carbolic acid before surgery. Routine glove use increased and infection rates decreased quite unexpect-