Evidence-Based Practice: A Quick Overview (Part 1)

Guest post by Gabriel Merckx, MLIS *

Evidence Based Practice is essential to anybody working in health care. This series on Evidence Based Practice will help you develop skills related to the task, as well as point you to Ascension Wisconsin Library tools that can help along the way.

So what is Evidence Based Practice?

Evidence Based Practice, also known as EBP for short, is a way to make informed clinical decisions, allowing for the best medical care for the patient. It is a process by which medical practice is based on evidence you find in response to a question, in addition to the patient’s wishes and clinical expertise.

This process is broken up into five sections, known as the five A’s:

• Ask
• Acquire
• Appraise
• Apply
• Assess

Each of these will get their own article in the series, but let’s go over a brief scenario.

You are treating a patient who recently had a hip fracture, and you are wondering if physical therapy will help lower their fall risk.

• Formulate this into a question using the PICO format. (Ask)

• Using our databases, such as CINAHL, NRC Plus, Cochrane Library or PubMed, look for literature related to your question.  (Acquire)

• Looking at the sources collected using critical appraisal skills (with the help of handy worksheets), determine whether the literature found is appropriately backed by research or not. (Appraise)

• After looking at the evidence that is trustworthy, can answer question, and use that answer to make a decision related to the patient, making sure to keep their desires in mind. (Apply)

• After you see the result of your decision, reflect back on the process and think about what you would do differently, what worked well, and what you have questions about after the process. (Assess)

Sound confusing? No problem! Our EBP LibGuide and article series in the following weeks should help clear up the process.

> See the whole 5-part series: The 5As of Evidence-based Practice

Have questions that you need answered sooner? Ask your Ascension Wisconsin Medical Librarians:

Michele.Matucheski@ascension.org or Kellee.Selden@ascension.org

* Gabriel Merckx was a practicum student at the Mercy Library in the summer of 2019 when he wrote this series.