Guidelines are designed to support the decision-making processes in patient care. The content of a guideline is usually based on a systematic review of clinical evidence, which often provides the best guidance for evidence-based care.
- Read the guideline corresponding to your topic. There will be a lot of things you do not yet fully understand, but you have the vocabulary and knowledge base necessary to follow along with the general outline of what is being recommended. Some will have long appendices; you do not need to read them in depth, but looking at them may help you understand their function.
- Use the following template to create a short summary and reflection for your topic.
- Name of the Guideline:
- Link to the Guideline:
- Date the guideline was published and/or last reviewed:
- Organization who recommends/created the guideline:
- Population at risk or targeted:
- Supporting Evidence:(Describe the kind of evidence they used to create the guideline. This does not mean that you have to list every article used – such a list would be many pages long for most of these guidelines. Think roughly 1-3 sentences, describing the types and quantity of evidence used.)
- Guideline Suggestions:(This is where you actually tell us what the guideline says. You don’t need to provide every detail – that would be well outside the scope of this class, not to mention outside the scope of the nursing profession. Instead, describe when and how the guideline should be used, so that a nurse would know how it is being used to guide patient care, and how it is used directly in shaping nursing care.)
- Reflection:(Reflect on the importance of the guideline and describe the nursing implications. What assessment techniques are important for this disease process and how will you use this information in your practice? Is there anything that you believe should be emphasize more or less, or is there anything controversial or requiring further investigation?)
