Where in the World Is Evidence-Based Practice?
Evidence-based practice enhances the way the healthcare system in the United States operates. Melnyk and Fineout-Overholt (2018) elucidated that EBP is at the core of quality health care provided to Americans. Therefore, any organization in the country that provides health care services should adopt the EBP models (Crabtree, Brennan, Davis, & Coyle, 2016). Although people might assume that EBP applies only to hospitals and other facilities that provide direct care, it informs practice in other organizations, such as the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE).
From its website, CCNE is an independent national accreditation agency in the United States. The organization helps to improve public health in the country by ensuring the integrity and quality of nursing education programs (AANC2019). It serves public interests through assessment and identification of programs that support nurse training.
While accreditation is a voluntary process, it helps to improve the quality and integrity of education offered to nurses in the country. EBP at the agency level is evident in its mission and purposes. Since the organization aims at continued quality improvement, it makes decisions following adequate research and evaluation of evidence to support the mission (Melnyk, Fineout-Overholt, Stillwell, & Williamson, 2010). EBP advocates for ongoing assessment of nursing programs to ensure that they meet quality standards.
The healthcare organization’s work is grounded in EBP. One of the core values of the organization is to support continuous quality improvement in programs and their results. The organization also depends on peer review and oversight to implement new programs. Therefore, it should use evidence from research to implement and achieve the values.
Overall, the information from the website has improved my perception of the organization. I have learned that accreditation organization also relies on evidence to support quality outcomes. Therefore, I have discovered the need to explore such organizations to establish their use of EBP.