From Ha-Ha to a-Ha! Using Humor To Transform Nursing Education by Shirley K. Trout, PhD, MEd

A Curious Side Note about “Evidence”

This month’s column is, admittedly, not focused on humor. Sorry about that, but I had a conversation recently that I just have to share as I scratch my head in disbelief. My conversation was with a nurse-friend who was telling me the realities of her days on the floor of the hospital where she works. As is probably normal for most nurses, she had to be prepared to hit the ground running from the first second on duty to whatever time she was able to leave (she often covers double shifts because, as a per diem nurse, she can use the extra money).

She knows I’ve been working on nursing education transformation with Dr. Jan Boller, an associate professor and director of nursing leadership programs in the College of Graduate Nursing at Western University’s College of Health Sciences in Pomona, CA. My friend and I began talking about “evidence-based” nursing care. Her comment to me startled me and has been on my mind ever since.

She said, surprisingly defensively, “When I have a patient that needs [some kind of care procedure], am I supposed to run to the staff lounge and look up how to do the procedure properly? I don’t have time to find the evidence for what I’m doing.”

Hmmmmm. Is this a typical interpretation? (more…)