In the March/April issue of Nursing made Incredibly Easy!!, you asked us to write you with thoughts on where we are as nurses in the quest for evidence. It was an incredibly timely question for me, as my ability to practice evidence-based nursing had just made a quantum leap!!
At the time, I was enrolled in the clinical portion of a nursing refresher course. I had been out of nursing for over 15 years. When the opportunity arose to administer an I.M. injection to a newborn, I felt a sudden need for review. I went in search of the policies and procedures book for the unit, a birth center in a busy hospital. I was amazed to find no written policy for giving an I.M. injection to a newborn.
My next step was to check the policies and procedures book in the intensive care nursery. They didn't have a written policy either!! When I asked two nurse leaders in the unit, I was told that giving I.M. injections was "Nursing 101."
I was embarrassed and humiliated, and I was still in need of review. I went home and launched myself into a researching frenzy. A call to a librarian revealed to me that I have access to an almost unlimited health science database through a nearby college. The librarians there were very helpful.
In the end, I now have a policy and procedure for administering I.M. injections to newborns, and I'm looking forward to offering it to the birth center. It's a great feeling knowing that the next nurse with a question about this topic will have a more positive experience because I chose to transform a potential conflict into an opportunity to improve patient care through evidence-based practice.