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Evidence-based veterinary medicine (EBVM) — how nurses can get involved
Abstract
Veterinary nurses (VNs) are faced with clinical decisions every day and should use the best available evidence to help them to decide the best course of action. VNs should be confident in using evidence-based veterinary medicine (EBVM) to do this, looking for evidence, appraising its worth and applying it to their work. This article aims to help VNs achieve this by giving advice on each step of using EBVM.
Evidence-based veterinary medicine (EBVM) is defined by Holmes and Ramey (2007:194) as ‘the conscientious, explicit and judicious use of the current best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients'. Evidence should be used alongside existing clinical expertise as well as owner and patient circumstances.
Veterinary nurses (VNs) as well as veterinary surgeons have to make clinical decisions on a daily basis. These may be related to any aspect of veterinary nursing from surgical preparation of a patient, caring for inpatients, or a question that has been asked by a pet owner in a nurse's clinic. By using EBVM, nurses are looking at up to date, current and good quality evidence in order to help guide them when making these decisions.
EBVM also forms part of the clinical auditing cycle; an audit may be carried out in one area of practice that identifies the need for a change or an update to a current protocol.
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