Clinical Governance Essay

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Research, Clinical Governance and Reflection

According to the Royal College of Nursing, (RCN) (2003) nursing is about using clinical judgement through the provision of care to help people reach their best quality of life. This essay will explore aspects that foster clinical judgement and the provision of care. The relationship between evidence-based practice and clinical effectiveness will be discussed, along with how clinical governance can influence the quality of healthcare for patients. Finally this essay will consider the contribution of reflection to nursing practice, including a personal reflection using the Gibbs cycle.

Evidence-based practice has been described as a systematic process for 'finding, appraising and using research findings as the basis for clinical decisions' (Long and Harrison, 1996 cited in McSherry et al, 2002, p7). It occurs when decisions about the care of a patient are made with respect to all the information available (Chambers and Boath, 2001). It is important for nurses to understand and implement evidence-based practice as they are now expected to justify their decisions on professional expertise such as research (McSherry et al, 2002). Nurses can no longer base their care on ritual and tradition but are encouraged to use valid evidence that enables them to be accountable for what they do (McSherry et al, 2002). Nurses will be able to improve the quality of patient care, as integrating professional judgement with the best evidence available produces effective personalised nursing interventions (Simmons, 2002). Essentially the care provided is holistic, as instead of nurses applying a tested method
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