My team is still awaiting feedback from our instructor about our final dissemination project.
From this project, I learned how to work as a team and divide work while making the final product cohesive. Last semester, in EBP 1, I worked alone on the ongoing paper. This was valuable in teaching me independence and I put a lot of hard work into the research. However, this semester I saw the value in working with others as a group. Having input and editing each other’s contributions made the project better as a whole.
Prior to working on this evidence-based research, I had not truly considered the importance of documenting accurate intake and output. Having worked on R7, a cardiac floor, at Maine Medical Center, I have been needing to document this on many, if not all patients. Intake and output is especially relevant to cardiac patients where fluid balance can be altered. In my future nursing practice, I will be more mindful of the importance of things like intake and output. I realize it is crucial to recognize the reasoning behind nursing actions as opposed to just doing them because that’s what is expected. Critical thinking skills build upon the foundational skills and help the nurse determine what is appropriate and when to question orders.
Since creating this dissemination project, I have realized that even inexperienced nurses (or nursing students) have the ability to make a change and compile evidence-based research. Whether working alone or with other nurses, changes in practice can be accomplished to promote the best outcomes for patients and optimize safety.
The topic you chose is very important to our nursing profession and I feel that the information you provided is very informative. You displayed the information in a concise manner, and everything is laid out in a neat format.
This is a great brochure, I appreciated how informative and I loved that you included “how patients can help” because this is a huge barrier to getting an accurate intake and output measurement. This also includes the patient in their own care which is definitely a priority. I also liked that you addressed nurse’s workload and fatigue and how it can affect the accuracy of intake and output because this is a true issue and can ultimately affect the patient. Since we had clinical on the same floor and my group did our final project on the same topic it was refreshing to see different thoughts and information on intake and output that my group had not thought of. Great job!!