Assignment Task:
Respond this discussion visiting the websites they shared and offering additional examples of EBP or alternative views/interpretations to those shared in your colleagues' posts. Reference within Five years and in APA
Healthcare Organization Reviewed: The American Nurses Association (ANA)
For this discussion, I examined the American Nurses Association (ANA) website, a prominent professional body representing registered nurses across the United States. As an organization, ANA has prided itself on leadership in the advancement of nursing standards, ethics, and practice. One of the major goals of the ANA is to assist nurses with the deployment of value-driven, patient-centered care, and a significant part of that mission is encouraging evidence-based practice (EBP). EBP is highlighted in several important areas on their site, including the Practice & Policy section, which explains the development of nursing standards and guidelines with available research and data.
Where EBP Appears on the Website
The ANA readily incorporates EBP into multiple parts of its website. As one example, the Nursing Scope and Standards of Practice document, which governs professional nursing conduct, is perpetually revised in accordance with the best current evidence. The ANA also provides EBP resources in the continuing education center and works to encourage nurses to use the best evidence in clinical and leadership practice. In addition, the ANA's participation in programs such as the Magnet Recognition Program, which the American Nurses Credentialing Center governs, incorporates EBP into system-level practice. In these hospitals, the program participants must show how systematically the research and EBP are utilized to improve patient care outcomes. This integration of EBP aligns with what Schmidt & Brown (2025) describe as a crucial shift in healthcare: moving from tradition- or authority-based practices to decisions informed by sound evidence. It goes beyond having research evidence to putting systems where clinical and organizational evidence-based decisions are made daily.
Is the ANA Grounded in Evidence-Based Practice?
Indeed, the ANA's operations are centered on EBP. The professional association motivates nurses to utilize evidence in their practices and equips them with relevant resources and models that facilitate its application. To support this, Schmidt & Brown (2025) state that attaining EBP proficiency is critical to improving care quality, minimizing errors, and improving patient outcomes. The ANA furthers this emphasis by providing resources for competency development and advocacy for empirically grounded policies. Their support towards EBP aligns with the seven-step model of EBP by Melnyk, Fineout-Overholt, Stillwell, and Williamson (2010), which asks for clinical questioning, evidence searching and appraisal, and merging the evidence to clinical experience alongside patient interaction. In addition, the ANA endorses the Quadruple Aim - enhanced care, better health of the population, lower cost, and well-being of the provider, which has a strong connection to effective EBP deployment (Sikka, Morath, & Leape, 2015). This shows that EBP is not merely restricted to bedside nursing but is part of the ANA's wider objectives pertaining to systemic healthcare change.
Impact on My Perception of the ANA
Before reviewing the ANA website, I already respected the organization as a nursing leader. However, I hadn't fully appreciated the depth of its commitment to evidence-based practice. EBP, incorporated in policy development, education, and practice, has helped shape my understanding of the nursing profession's future. It showed me the value of EBP beyond the clinical setting for nursing leadership, advocacy, and organizational transformation. This reaffirms a point made by Crabtree et al. (2016) that engaging in EBP enhances care delivery for patients and the nursing profession.
Conclusion
The American Nurses Association exemplifies any professional healthcare organization considering their application of EBP policy. They guide, develop resources, and establish organizational programs to create an environment where nurses are encouraged and required to use research evidence in their practice. This aligns with the goals of Schmidt and Brown (2025), who pointed out that EBP aims to improve patient outcomes by integrating the best available evidence with clinical expertise and patient preferences. Need Assignment Help?