Evidence-based practice: to be or not to be, this is the question!

Evidence-based nursing is the current fashion. It is being touted as the mechanism to achieve best practice in the clinical setting. But while evidence-based practice (EBP) is being presented in the literature, discussed at nursing practice forums, and evidence-based centres of excellence have developed, there seems to be very little impact in the practice that nurses deliver on a daily basis. The case in point is the collection of vital signs. While not historically a nursing skill, over the last 60 years it has become an integral component of practice in the postoperative general surgical setting. The evidence to support these practices is scant. Policies and text purport traditional routine-regulated practice without substantive evidence to support their claims. These policies are being used to control rather than support EBP. In conjunction with the traditional practice of vital sign collection and the culture of the clinical settings, the policies are limiting opportunities for clinicians to make individual decisions about care delivery based on the unique needs of each patient. Rather than focusing on EBP as the solution to the development of best practice, is it not time to change the focus to real strategies that will assist in achieving best practice? These include the creation of rigorous relevant evidence, the valuing of clinical expertise and the changing of the cultures in which nurses develop and practice.