Hello Terie,

It was interesting reading your informative post. You did a great job of reporting the issue

to the clinical preceptor and EBP mentor. The mentors play an important role in supporting and

educating nurses or staff members in evidence-based care. Leaders or managers are obliged to

utilize a multifaceted approach to establish and sustain the evidence-based practice, including the

development of critical masses of mentors to collaborate with staff members at the point of care.

Nurse leaders and managers are adequately trained and educated to participate in policy

improvement and promotion of evidence-based and safe practice in the healthcare setting

(McWilliams et al., 2020).

It is indeed true that updating procedures and policies are essential in the prevention of

inconsistencies and confusion during the process of healthcare delivery leading to poor patient

outcomes. Updating policies ensures that the healthcare team stays informed and at par with new

changes and technological advancements that are vital in quality improvement. Integrating

obsolete policies and procedures in nursing practice can lead to mistakes, errors, patient harm

and litigation. Policies are important in the healthcare setting because they ensure that nurses

adhere to established practice standards that lead to the improvement of patient safety and the

quality of services offered (Jongsma et al., 2018).

References

Jongsma, K., Rimon-Zarfaty, N., Raz, A., & Schicktanz, S. (2018). One for all, all for one?

Collective representation in healthcare policy. Journal of Bioethical Inquiry, 15(3), 337-

340. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11673-018-9870-9
McWilliams, L., Woof, V. G., Donnelly, L. S., Howell, A., Evans, D. G., & French, D. P.

(2020). Risk stratified breast cancer screening: UK healthcare policy decision-making

stakeholders’ views on a low-risk breast screening pathway. BMC

Cancer, 20(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12885-020-07158-9

Hello Johnnie Sue Peters,

Thank you for sharing your insights. As a nurse manager, you should carry out extensive

research about the identified issue. It is important to seek out current evidence-based practices

related to the procedure. You should contact the administration team and evidence-based

mentors, and educators to discuss the policy to confirm the need for updating it (Cordeiro et l.,

2021). During the meeting, you should address the new evidence-based procedure guidelines for

review, revision and rewriting. As a nurse manager, you should recognize and appreciate the

nurse’s action of reporting the issue. Such a step shows nurses' efforts in improving patient

safety and quality of care. This is a good example for other nurses. The nurse leaders and

managers should encourage the nursing staff members to always remain vigilant to identify key

areas that need improvement in the clinical setting to improve quality and achieve excellent

patient outcomes.

Updating policies and procedures enhances the improvement of safety and quality in the

healthcare setting. Using updated procedures and policies indicates adherence to practice

standards and regulations that have been established by the relevant authorities. Using obsolete

procedures and policies in patient care can lead to dangerous outcomes like patient harm, thus
subjecting nurses to litigation and other consequences related to the provision of inappropriate

care (Melnyk & Fineout-Overhold, 2022). 

References

Cordeiro, R., Rengel-Diaz, C., & Harvey, C. (2021). Good Management and Clinical

Leadership: Supporting Quality Patient Care. In Impacts of Rationing and Missed

Nursing Care: Challenges and Solutions (pp. 173-183). Springer, Cham.

Melnyk, B. M., & Fineout-Overhold, E. (2022). Evidence-based practice in nursing &

healthcare: A guide to best practice. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.