Penn State Hershey Medical Center Nurses: Making Patient Care Better through Nursing Research and Evidence Based Practices.

Penn State Hershey Medical Center nurses support and use advancements from the scientific community to care for acute and chronically ill patients. The Scholarly Activities show the many ways that nurses make use of the best available research evidence to deliver holistic patient and family care. Nurses at all levels use and apply research findings in nursing practice for the benefit of patients and their families. Nurses support research as coordinators in industry sponsored clinical trials and as co-investigators with physicians and other health scientists. Nurses use and apply research findings to select equipment and products that promote effective and efficient patient care. They implement research-based models of nursing care to promote health and recovery from illness; and apply evidence-based practices to improve the overall clinical setting where care is provided.

Research findings show that nursing care has a direct positive impact on patient outcomes.  Nurses as the largest professional practice group in hospitals have the most impact on patient satisfaction with care, successful early discharge, decreased readmissions, infection control, and decreased mortality.

Expert clinicians who use the best available evidence in nursing care provide optimal patient care.  EBP uses the best research evidence and nursing expertise to give patient centered care that is effective and safe.  EBP integrates patients' preferences and values into clinical decision making.

Research and EBP are important to the entire organization.  Research findings show that applying, using, and evaluating research findings in an organization's operational processes promotes a knowledgeable and expert nursing workforce that ultimately produces better patient outcomes.