How Skills & Efficacy Integrate with Evidence Based Practice;
For quite some time a popular word banded about in psychological services, psychiatry and medicine has been ‘Evidence Based Practice’;
There are many variable definitions, here is just one;
“the conscientious, explicit and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients. The practice of evidence-based medicine means integrating individual clinical expertise with the best available external clinical evidence from systematic research”
Source: Sackett et al, 1996.
The definition above, highlights the need to draw on both the professionals clinical experiential knowledge and the best external evidence. Neither is enough on its own. As Sackett and his colleagues point out, clinical practices become out of date if new evidence is not drawn upon. However, the clinician must be aware of what evidence is appropriate to integrate into their practice. This can prove to be a difficult and time-consuming task but it is an essential skill in implementing evidence based practice.
Evidence based practice can be broken down into 5 key stages. These are:
The Question. The first step in evidence based practice is recognising that there is a need for new information. This information need has to be converted into an answerable question.
Finding the Evidence. Choosing the right evidence is of fundamental importance.
Appraisal. The evidence must be critically appraised to determine its validity and potential usefulness.
Acting on Evidence. Once you have concluded that the evidence is of sound quality, you will have to decide whether the evidence should be incorporated into your clinical practice.
Evaluation & Reflection. Evaluation and reflection are necessary to determine whether the action you have taken has achieved the desired results. This is now a fundamental part of any clinical practice.
Evidence based practice is a continuous process. Once you have worked through each of the stages, you are likely to find that new questions have arisen that need to be answered.
“Let me know if this was useful?”
Dawn Pugh Expert therapist.
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