Influencing Health Outcomes Through Evidence-Based Practice in an eHealth Era

(Presented in collaboration with the Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario)

Speakers

• Irmajean Bajnok, RN, MScN, PhD, Director International Affairs and Best Practice Guidelines Program Co-Director Nursing Best Practice Reserach Unit, Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario, Toronto, Canada      
• Heather McConnell, RN, BScN, MEd, Associate Director International Affairs and Best Practice Guidelines Program, Registered Nurses' Association on Ontario, Toronto, Canada
                          

Learning Objectives

• The learner will be able to describe an implementation model that can be used for both clinical and healthy work environment best practice guidelines.
  
  
• The learner will be able to discuss how evidence-based practice can be supported through ehealth applications, which and elearning programs.
  

Overview

The Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario, through their best practice guideline program, has developed over 36 clinical and healthy work environment guidelines that can affect outcomes for nurses, patients and organizations when implemented. Evidence reinforces that clinical excellence and positive patient outcomes can be enhanced through sustained utilization of clinical best practice guidelines within a healthy work environment.

The RNAO Healthy Work Environment Guidelines focus on areas such as leadership, teamwork, workload and staffing, workplace health safety and well being, professionalism and embracing diversity. They also provide evidence-based tools to help create an evidence-based practice culture. As ehealth is transforming health care, technology supported information systems must be embraced by nurses in order to facilitate evidence-based practice and enhanced information management.

This workshop will provide a framework for linking a healthy work environment and clinical best practice guidelines to create positive outcomes for patients, nurses and organizations. Successful implementation models will be described and illustrated with examples. As part of this approach, a variety of methods for engaging key stakeholders across professions, as well as approaches to sustainability, will be addressed.

Included in this workshop will be a focus on the use of ehealth to provide easy access to best practices at point of care; evidence-based assessment and decision support tools as part of the electronic health record; evidence-based documentation guides and elearning programs that ensure the best evidence is incorporated in ongoing nursing practice activities. Participants will leave with a set of guides to create quality care and quality work environments and strategies to sustain evidence-based cultures.