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The Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) has worked diligently to improve the care of patients with cancer and their families. A recent project that demonstrates this commitment to quality care is the development of nursing-sensitive patient outcomes resources. ONS has teamed researchers, advanced practice nurses, and staff nurses to develop Putting Evidence Into Practice resources that provide guidance for nursing interventions based on the evidence. The ability to provide evidence for nursing interventions is critical to all aspects of patient care, including patient teaching, development of patient care policies and procedures, and provision of direct patient care.
Evidence-based practice is a concept that has become integral in today's Healthcare system. Nurses must be able to provide care to patients and families that is based on the best available evidence so they can potentiate the best possible patient outcomes. According to Rutledge and Grant (2002), evidence-based practice "defines care that integrates best scientific evidence with clinical expertise, knowledge of pathophysiology, knowledge of psychosocial issues, and decision making preferences of patients" (p. 1). Evidence-based practice is unique because it includes the preferences and values of patients and their families in the process. Although clinicians may use the best evidence available, application and outcomes will differ based on patients' values, concerns, expectations, and/or preferences.
The journey of the Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) to improve the quality of oncology care and to integrate evidencebased practice into care has reached a new milestone. ONS has developed a resource to help oncology nurses use evidence in their practices, improving nursing-sensitive patient outcomes (NSPOs). NSPOs are outcomes that are attained through or are significantly impacted by nursing interventions. The interventions must be within the scope of nursing practice and integral to the processes of nursing care (Given et al., 2004). NSPOs represent the consequences or effects of nursing interventions and result in changes in patients' symptom experience, functional status, safety, psychological distress, and/or healthcare costs.
Who really cares if patients achieve the desired outcome? Many stakeholders in today's healthcare arena look at patient outcome data, including patients themselves, insurers of care, providers of care, legislators, purchasers, and regulators of health care. All of the stakeholders want to know whether patient care has value.
The Oncology Nursing Society Putting Evidence Into Practice Resources