Photo By Douglas Stutz | U.S. Navy Nurse Corps, U.S. Army Nurse Corps and Hospital Corps who attended the...... read more read more
The commitment to enhance medical readiness was visually evident recently at Naval Hospital Bremerton.
U.S. Navy and U.S. Army Nurse Corps officers, along with hospital corpsmen assigned to Navy Medicine Readiness Training Command Bremerton, honed their evidence based practice skills at a TriService Nursing Research Program Evidence Based Practice training class.
“This is a big deal for nurses because two instructors came from out of town to teach this class which takes us through all the steps of EBP to come out and be ready to do a EBP project,” said Lt. Cmdr. Maggy Mitzkewich, NMRTC Bremerton Specialty Care department.
The training class, in conjunction with the Uniformed Services University, was held to refine attendees’ knowledge on the values of evidence based practice designed to help military nurses care for warfighters on the field of battle as well as retirees and dependents at a military treatment facility.
“Most nurses at Naval Hospital Bremerton work in a clinic environment, but we need to be ready to deploy in our primary subspecialty,” explained Mitzkewich. “Using evidence based practice, we can target the best training methods to keep our skills up to date using proven ideas such as skills fairs or virtual reality.”
Nurse Corps officers stationed at NHB, as well as other military treatment facilities, routinely are tasked for operational missions. NHB has recently deployed nurses to augment Navy fleet forces, support multiple Navy and Marine Corps locales across the Indo-Pacific theater, and assist U.S. Naval Forces Central Command needs and more.
The Tri-Service Nursing Research Program training class curriculum, under the auspices of organizers Laurie Migliore and Ellen Kroll, followed what is known as the Iowa Model, a practical process which provides a structured outline for conducting principles of evidence-based practice.
“The process uses a format based on the five stage formula of problem/population, intervention, comparison, outcome, and time,” said Mitzkewich, noting that a nurse can use evidence base practice knowledge to help improve quality healthcare and patient safety programs.
“As nurses, we use evidence based practice by integrating research, clinical expertise, and patient preference to make informed decisions about care,” continued Mitzkewich. “It is something we learn about in nursing school and continue to use and develop throughout our daily practice and careers. It is a tool that helps ensure we are keeping our patients safe and helping them reach their healthcare goals.”
According to Mitzkewich, examples of evidence based practice initiatives are NHB nurses updating the command’s patient falls policy and medication administration policy to ensure all staff members are adequately trained on both and that the hospital is using the most effective protocols to ensure patient safety.
Two of the EBP initiatives the class participants worked on were, ‘Implementing an effective medication administration training and competency for nurses and corpsmen’ and ‘Using evidence to create an effective outpatient falls protocol.’
Both initiatives are important in any healthcare locale.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, patient falls in a hospital setting, especially amongst elder beneficiaries, are a constant risk. The National Institute of Health also affirms that medication administration errors, such as wrong patient, wrong dose, wrong prescription, are all dispensing issues which are preventable.
Mitzkewich attests that being able to implement evidence based practices to improve healthcare delivery is a gratifying experience for nurses, as well as their patients.
“It is rewarding because the initiative that come from this class will affect real change in patient safety and knowledge, skills and abilities at our command,” stated Mitzkewich.
| Date Taken: | 02.20.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 02.20.2025 17:42 |
| Story ID: | 491172 |
| Location: | BREMERTON , WASHINGTON, US |
| Web Views: | 198 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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