The Cochrane Collaboration is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing access to high-quality evidence on the effects of health care treatments. In the spring of 2009, the Cochrane Collaboration created a new international network specific to the field of nursing, bringing the total number of Cochrane networks to 16. Cochrane networks are interest groups that provide supp...

The aim of this article is to outline types of ‘bias’ across research designs, and consider strategies to minimise bias. Evidence-based nursing, defined as the “process by which evidence, nursing theory, and clinical expertise are critically evaluated and considered, in conjunction with patient involvement, to provide the delivery of optimum nursing care,” is central to the continued developmen...

Multidisciplinary management of the acute cardiac patient, for decades, has been driven by best practices, treatment algorithms, and research-based protocols. As nurses continue to develop and implement evidence-based care, they must ensure that the essence of nursing is not lost in the process. In this article, strategies for the development of evidence-based practice guidelines for acute card...

AIM This paper presents a discussion of the role of nursing models and theory in the modern clinical environment. BACKGROUND Models of nursing have had limited success in bridging the gap between theory and practice. DATA SOURCES Literature on nursing models and theory since the 1950s, from health and social care databases. DISCUSSION Arguments against nursing theory are challenged. In th...

This paper examines the implications of the movement towards evidence-based health care for community-based, primary health care nursing in Australia. While both aim to improve health status, we argue that they are antithetical in many respects. Community nurse practitioners draw upon primary health care principles and adopt a holistic, preventive, empowering approach to working with and in com...

This article presents suggestions for nurses to gain skill, competence, and comfort in caring for critically ill patients receiving mechanical ventilatory support, with a specific focus on education strategies and building communication skills with these challenging nonverbal patients. Engaging in evidence-based practice projects at the unit level and participating in or leading research studie...