Evidence Based Nursing. A new perspective for Greek Nursing

Despite the fact that nursing research has been developed in Greece, nevertheless the provision of nursing care is not based on current research findings, but rather on the knowledge gained by nurses during their undergraduate education. The transition of medicine in the last decade towards evidence based practice had definitely an impact on the nursing profession. The aim of this article is to briefly present evidence based nursing as a process and perspective to Greek nurses. Method: A literature search was performed in order to identify and review relevant articles concerning evidence based nursing. Conclusions: It has been supported that in the practice of evidence based nursing, a nurse has to decide whether the evidence is relevant for the individual patient. The incorporation of clinical expertise should balance the risks and benefits of a possible treatment and take into consideration the patient’s unique clinical circumstances and preferences. The stages to identify evidence for nursing practice follow firstly a question which must be addressed for a particular clinical problem. Then, a literature search is performed in order to access the evidence and critically appraise it and finally the best available evidence that fits into a particular case is utilized. Evidence based nursing bears benefits for patients, nurses and health care services, as well. In the process of implementing evidence based nursing in Greece there are several constraints. Taking these difficulties into consideration and until Greek nurses familiarize themselves with evidence based nursing care, it is necessary to constitute workgroups of nurse researchers aiming at forming clinical guidelines for nursing practice, which will based on the best available evidence.

Keywords: evidence based practice, nursing, research implementation, critical appraisal