Cystic fibrosis is a genetic disorder that has recently developed more medical attention and knowledge. In the beginning years of this disease, the life expectancy was around the late 20s to early 30s. New medical technology and pharmaceuticals have prolonged the patient’s life expectancy to the late 60s. This improvement has uncovered new issues from cystic fibrosis such as infertility. As new research studies arise, they have all shown that this disease has an impact on fertility rates.
Category: EBP 1 Posts
Final Reflection
Reflecting back on the evolution of this research paper, I have learned a lot about myself as a future nurse. I have learned that nursing is about helping people get better in the present moment and making the future better by introducing new policies, medications, and procedures. This is very important as this is an ever-changing profession. As new technology and disease arise it is important to re-evaluate the current practices to find the best outcome for the patients. As nurses, we have personal experiences that can provide insight as to what is working on a unit and what may need improvement. This is where evidence-based practice comes into play within the nursing profession. For this assignment, we were able to work with a peer. This has improved my communication skills, time management, and interpersonal compatibility. I have learned how to delegate certain tasks to my partner in order to break up the workload. I also learned how to read research articles and evaluate whether or not they are reliable. This is important because I may need to develop new guidelines for my floor based on the evidence from various articles. All in all, I have learned that a nurse has many roles and responsibilities some of which may change the course of our practice for the better!
Ethical Considerations for EBP
My understanding of the nurse’s role in the ethical conduct of research has changed immensely. I had not thought about how long ethics has been a part of the healthcare profession. I understand that nurses and doctors alike are in charge of holding each other accountable when confronted with an ethical dilemma. As a nurse, a big part of our job is to advocate for our patients and provide them with all of the information in order to create an informed decision about their care. It is important for nurses to understand the historical importance of the principles of research ethics because it creates a similar point of view from a different time period. This is the same issue but in a different way. This movie shows the disastrous consequences of going against the right thing to do. In the view of the doctor, it seems as though they are creating a historical study with data that will make them famous regardless of the expected outcome which is death. The nurse in this movie is faced with charges due to her role in letting this study happen even though it was very unethical. The nurse knew what she was doing and was opposed to it at first. She tried to encourage the use of penicillin once it was confirmed to treat syphilis but the doctors shot down her request for the sake of the study. This historical movie is important to watch because things like this still happen today. It is important to be the change you want to see for your patients. Throughout this course, I have learned how to ethically collect, analyze, and document research. I am now able to participate in evidence-based practice initiatives with knowledge about the past and how it has shaped research and clinical practice today. This ability is very important when providing the best care for my patients
Appraisal and Synthesis
I discovered many new things about fertility in women diagnosed with cystic fibrosis. My original assumption was that women with this disease have little to no ability to conceive naturally. As I analyzed our research studies, I was pleasantly surprised with the results. Women with cystic fibrosis have a slightly decreased ability to conceive naturally and if they need an alternative means such as IVF, this usually works. This finding will impact my future as a nurse, by being able to provide the best support and education for patients with CF. Having a support system is beneficial when dealing with the conception of a child. I may be able to educate the patient on alternative ways to become pregnant that have been effective for other women with this condition. As I reflect on this project, I have enjoyed the individual steps that have been helping me with the paper in little pieces. This has helped me with my time management skills considering I have other classes that are just as important. An issue that my partner and I have run into is dissecting the information in our articles. The evidence table and the critical appraisal worksheets have helped us break down all of the evidence in a manageable way.
From Inquiry Through Discovery
My partner and I did not need to revise our PICOT question upon searching for research articles. We encountered an issue with finding articles within the given time range. This assignment required us to find relevant articles that were written in 2017-2023. When I originally began looking for articles I did not find many that were conducted within our given year range. I then solved this issue by narrowing the year bracket to then populate articles that would qualify. Our PICOT question directly targets fertility in females, but when researching for articles many of the articles were about fertility in males. This was very interesting but was not what we were looking for. In order to fix this problem, I decided to change the keywords I was using in my search. I changed “Females” to “Women” and I also tried to use the word “Ladies”. This then helped narrow the search even further. Thus far this assignment has been manageable. I have used my time appropriately and given this paper about 30 minutes of my time each day depending on the assignment for class. A few things I will take away from this assignment are to change the year bracket before researching the topic. I would also think of synonyms for a word if I am not coming up with many results before I resort to changing my overall question.
Planning the Journey
When looking at the journey ahead, I think the majority of my time and effort will consume writing the final paper. I have many interests and ideas that will help me create an intriguing topic to research. I have decided I will be working with my friend Jordyn. We both are very studious and organized. I will manage my time by breaking the paper down into small chunks that I can complete each day. This will make the paper as a whole, less daunting. As life gets in the way and I have other assignments and exams, I hope to designate an hour of my day to complete a part of this assignment. I hope that by researching a topic that is engaging to me, this paper will feel less like work and more like a fun learning activity. I believe that planning a long, ongoing assignment such as this, will help me as a future nurse plan more efficiently. I hope to learn how to manage my time while trying to juggle many other important things. As a nurse, I will have to be able to balance my time with different patients as well as my personal time for self-care and social life. Creating time to decompress after a long shift is crucial when it comes to burnout in the workplace. By planning my time, I hope to prevent and minimize the chances of burnout and therefore take better care of my patients.
Thinking About the Journey
The nursing specialty I am most interested in is respiratory more specifically with pediatric patients. I am interested in this because I have first-hand experience as a pediatric patient with a rare respiratory disease. My disease is called Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia, which is a genetic disorder that affects the cilia in the body. This is very problematic because the cilia are in charge of the movement of mucus throughout the respiratory system. Without this mechanism, I have had many upper and lower respiratory infections and complications. I have been in the hospital countless times as a pediatric patient and all of the nurses I have had has made a profound impact on me! I would love to learn about other rare pulmonary disorders and potentially meet other people with the same disease.
I have little knowledge about what evidence-based practice is but I believe it is similar to the nursing process. I believe it involves the analysis and interpretation of evidence of a patient’s condition. I hope to apply what I learn in Evidence-Based Practice to my Adult Health classes and clinical. I believe this will help me be a better nurse by improving my critical thinking skills. This is a key part of what makes a great nurse. I hope to enhance my ability to take what I have learned in previous classes and apply it to the clinical setting. Once I can practice this skill in clinical, I hope it will allow for a more seamless transition to the real world when I am a Registered Nurse.
