Evidence Based Practice Assignment 2022

Running head: EVIDENCE BASED PRACTICE
EVIDENCE BASED PRACTICE
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author’s name

1
EVIDENCE BASED PRACTICE
In acute care units, a procedure commonly seen is suctioning of respiratory secretions
who have undergone tracheostomy. Although, it is not an Evidence Based Practice and current
evidences do not support the practice of normal saline instillation, the prevalence of this practice
is often noticed in the acute care settings. Registered Nurses (RNs) continue to use this procedure
despite knowing that this can be detrimental to their health. There is a huge gap noticed between
the current evidences and the procedures followed in the nursing practice (Leddy & Wilkinson,
2015).
According to the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia standards, the RNs must use
Evidence Based Practice while working in clinical settings to ensure an improved heath outcome
of the patients (Nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au, 2019). RNs must use and access the best
available evidences including the most current and valid research findings and incorporate their
expertise aligning with the nursing standards into their practice. The RNs must think critically
and use best available evidences to provide safe and quality care to the patients
(Nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au, 2019).
As it can be seen in the scenario that being a RN, it is highly unethical to not stick to the
nursing standards which clearly states to use Evidence Based Practice in delivering quality care
to the patients. To communicate regarding this and bring this to the notice of the RN, it is
important to impart knowledge about the consequences that can be caused in case of not working
within the framework of Evidence Based Practice.
Normal saline instillation before suctioning does not benefit the patients who are
undergoing tracheostomy or endotracheal intubation. In addition to that, it reduces the oxygen
saturation 5 minutes after suctioning (Wang et al., 2017). Therefore, it is never recommended to