Reflection-in-Action

The purpose of Reflection-in-Action is to reflect upon what one has learned or how one has performed as compared with one’s expectations or goals. This assignment will provide an opportunity for students to share their experiences, thoughts, feelings and learning moments from this course.

Self understanding through reflection on life experiences, feelings, etc., is a core concept in Dr. Jean Watson’s Theory of Human Caring.

The Reflection for this course must address at least three (3) of the following topics:

Learning moments or activities from this course
Thoughts on evidence-based practice
Evidence supporting Jean Watson’s Theory of Human Caring
Ethics in research
Protecting human subjects in quality improvement or evidence-based practice projects
Understanding or comfort level with statistics in nursing research and other research reports
Perception of MSN graduates’ role in nursing research
Creating and sustaining an Evidence-Based nursing environment
Asking compelling, clinical questions
Lessons learned while conducting evidence-based literature review

ANSWER

Reflection in Action

Introduction

The nursing course has covered different nursing practices and the nursing process while offering quality care The nursing course promotes decision making, proficiency, intelligence, problem solving and creativity skills within the clinical trial. Offering care through the nursing process boosts quality care, and increases patient satisfaction for individuals who receive care. This paper will focus on a reflection of the things that I have learned throughout the course. These include ethics in research, evidence-based practice, and human subjects’ protection in EBP or quality improvement projects.

Thoughts on Evidence-based Practice

As a result of completing this course I have gained further insight into application of evidence based practice and its relevance in nursing. Skilled nurses offer care to patients through the use of validated interventions. Through the course, I have learnt about evidence based practice and how it aids in pin pointing care approaches that can help patients and improvement of care. EBP in nursing is an incorporation of clinical expertise, research evidence and patient’s preferences. EBP has been an effective problem solving approach to clinical practice which encourages the nurses and health professionals to offer individualized care to patients (Mackey and Bassendowski, 2017). This approach has enable nurses to examine the course of action to deliver quality care. EBP includes five phases which comprise of formulation of a clinical inquiry to recognize an issue, collecting best evidence, analyzing the results, applying the proof as a solution and evaluating the results.

Considerably, the application of EBP in nursing practices has offered the nurses scientific evidences that have enabled them to make well-informed decisions. Through EBP, nurses can stay updated about the novel medical practices to improve the quality of care. For instance, nurses can increase their knowledge and chances for the patient’s recovery by searching the documented interventions. EBP has enabled nurses to evaluate the research to comprehend the risks and effectiveness of treatments and diagnostic tests. Relatively, EBP has encouraged nurses and the care process to involve patients in the care plan. This has allowed the patients to have an active role in their healthcare process since they have been given a chance to share their values, concerns, and preferences, making suggestions on how they want the care to proceed.

With the utilization of evidence-based practice, better patient outcomes can lower the demand for healthcare resources, thus reducing expenses in healthcare organizations. EBP is aimed at improving the current knowledge in nursing practice to boost patient outcomes and care processes. The EBP process has been highly applied in research efforts in nursing and healthcare. Its efforts bring about shifts in research to practice efforts, including new roles, new evidence forms, new practice cultures, and care processes. To successfully sustain and adopt EBP, the healthcare practitioners and nurses have adopted positive attitudes towards EBP to gain more skills and knowledge on how to employ the practice.

Ethics in Research

Ethics in research is one of the topics of this course, which focuses on the rules that distinguish between right and wrong in research. I learned about ethical norms in research and how moral development transpires in research. I have understood different ethical norms and principles and how they are applied in research. Considerably, all the study including human subjects has to be carried out in accord to the fundamental ethical principles: beneficence, respect for other individuals, justice and non-maleficence (Pimple, 2017).  It is anticipated that these values are effective in guiding the conscientious preparation of proposals in scientific studies.

When thinking about research ethics, I tend to think of the issues that are evident when human subjects are involved in the research. The issues greatly influence the research and the standards of conduct while carrying out research. Through this topic, I have learned that research ethics are vital in research since they promote the research aims. Research ethics expands knowledge, which involves handing varying aspects of research that lead to research inclusion in the different parties involved. Additionally, research ethics supports the different values that are needed for collaborative teamwork. The collaborative teamwork in research involves integrity, mutual respect, and fairness that the research has to depend on.

The topic of research ethics has offered important information linked to the areas of ethical codes when it comes to research. Integrity and honesty are among the most important concepts in research ethics. Every researcher is required to report research honestly. This applies to varying methods of research, data available, and previous research studies. Integrity entails the use of verifiable techniques in performing, proposing, and evaluating research. For instance, reporting research results demands particular attention to adherence to regulations, rules, guidelines, and professional research norms. Research ethics has been essential in signifying researchers’ credibility and moral principles that guide the research process and reporting of the research without the intention to harm.

Protecting Human Subjects in Quality Improvement or Evidence-Based Practice Projects

The topic of protecting human subjects in projects has offered a substantial understanding of the importance of ethical standards in research that protect human subjects. Researchers have to ensure that individuals participating in the research are protected from mental and physical harm (White, 2020). This means that human subjects should not be frightened, embarrassed, harmed, or offended. With regards to the topic, there are various steps that researchers undertake to safeguard human subjects.

The first thing to think about when it comes to responsible conduct is evaluating the study design’s potential risks. Researchers have to ensure that the human subjects involved in the project are justifiable and necessary. This means that there is a need to examine the risks that are sensible to the benefits and knowledge gained. While conducting the research, the subject has to be provided with detailed information on the study’s objectives, the study design, outcomes of the investigation, and the research protocols.

There are common guidelines that have dictated how researchers protect human subjects. These include the principles that researchers have to adhere to; obtaining informed consent, minimizing the risks to harm the human subjects, protecting their confidentiality, offering participants rights to withdraw from the research, and avoiding deceptive practices (White, 2020). Recruitments of subjects and obtaining consent are some of the approaches to protect human subjects. Recruitment involves attracting and selecting appropriate candidates for a project. On the other hand, obtaining consent entails providing adequate information to the subjects and offering an opportunity for individuals to consider the risks, benefits, and options of the research. Informed consent is an essential process for the investigator and subject to discuss the research process to eliminate any harm to the participants.

Conclusion

In summation, this course has offered important information related to research ethics, evidence-based practice, and the protection of human subjects in research. The concepts covered in this paper are linked to research and the nursing environment. Through the course, I have gained more skills and knowledge to enhance patient safety and quality.

References

Mackey, A., & Bassendowski, S. (2017). The history of evidence-based practice in nursing education and practice. Journal of Professional Nursing, 33(1), 51-55.

Pimple, K. D. (Ed.). (2017). Research ethics. Routledge.

White, M. G. (2020). Why human subjects research protection is important. Ochsner Journal, 20(1), 16-33.