Some consider the integration of evidence-based practice a \”cookbook\” approach. Do you agree or disagree? Explain. Support your position with one or two examples and one or two references.
Discussion 1-2: Evidence-Based Practice
Nurses have been trained to utilize the best evidence to guide clinical decision-making and ensure that patients receive care that improves outcomes. The definition of evidence-based practice has expanded to include the combination of quality evidence with clinician expertise and the needs/perceptions of the individual patient (Melnyk & Fineout-Overholt, 2019). However, one of the controversies that surround evidence-based practice is that some consider its integration to clinical practice as a ‘cookbook’ approach. By considering EBP as a ‘cookbook’ approach, the controversial persons claim that evidence-based practice encourages the utilization of research that is too uniform and inflexible thereby overriding the individualization of care. I disagree with this viewpoint because I believe that EBP does not just utilize research evidence as it is but it is usually tailored to unique patient situations and involves the application of a nurse’s clinical experience to address individual patients’ needs.
A person who adequately understands the key concepts that guide EBP will agree that it is not merely a ‘cookbook’ approach to care but a process that integrates the best available evidence with clinical expertise and patients’ perceptions or needs to care. For example, Melnyk and Fineout-Overholt (2019) emphasize that nurses should base their clinical decisions on the best available evidence obtained after evaluating several quality research findings. They should utilize this evidence to provide clinically-appropriate individualized care in response to specific patient situations. This means therefore, the EBP is not just about the application of uniform and inflexible evidence to healthcare delivery. In another example, Siwek (2018) explains that EBP primarily focuses on outcome-specific interventions rather than procedure-specific interventions when directing clinical decision-making. Essentially, clinicians make decisions based on the potential impacts of their actions on patient outcomes which must be supported by the best available evidence. This is more than focusing on health care procedures alone which forms the basis of the ‘cookbook’ controversy.
Melnyk, B. M., & Fineout-Overholt, E. (2019). Evidence-based practice in nursing & healthcare: a guide to best practice. Fourth edition. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer.
Siwek, J. (2018). Evidence-based medicine: Common misconceptions, barriers, and practical solutions. American Family Physician, 98(6), 343-344. https://www.aafp.org/afp/2018/0915/p343.html