Treatment of Obesity Evidence Base Practice Discussion

My topic for this course is focused on the treatment of obesity in the primary care setting (my future NP practice) using the ketogenic diet along with fasting and telehealth. I have done an immense amount of scholarly research on the ketogenic diet and fasting. In the past several years I have done multiple versions of the ketogenic diet that included: strict, clean, dirty, vegan, carnivore, cyclic, and vegetarian. I have done multiple several day fasts, intermittent fasting and extended fasting with the longest being thirty days. My research and experience to some would make me an expert. Despite my knowledge there is a limited place and value in the evidenced-based environment. I can use my personal experience and expertise to guide my predictions, help formulate questions and analyze data. My experience should not be included in the current data received nor be used as a comparison. The current project needs to be able to stand alone on its own. Knowledge can be power if it is not used to influence or skew the data. Gastroenterology Nursing (2011) stated, “Evidence-based research and evidenced practice takes research from the researcher, combines it with expertise from the clinical caregiver, and incorporates the views and expectations of the target audience.” Evidenced needs to be from a credible source and not just google searched. 

References

Want to lose weight? Do the research! (evidenced based, that is). (2011). Gastroenterology Nursing: The Official Journal of the Society of Gastroenterology Nurses and Associates, 34(2), 155–156. https://doi.org/10.1097/SGA.0b013e318211ddc9

Does evidence derived from personal experience and expertise have value in an EBP environment? Why or why not?

Evidence that has been derived from personal experience and expertise does have a lot of value in an evidence-based practice (EBP) environment in several different ways. EBP includes clinical expertise, external evidence, and the patient’s values. In the field, using the skills we developed from past experiences helps us with future situations with patients. Having a similar situation with a different patient may not work on this patient but using the expertise and personal experiences will help to inform our decisions going forward. (Ginex, 2018, para. 3). Adding the clinical expertise we developed, along with the best available evidence from EBP will help us to develop those options for our patients that they need. (Ginex, 2018, para. 3). External evidence is what we gain through each situation by finding the best evidence-based research guidelines and using them for our patients. Not every patient’s situation, similar or not, will not always have the same answers to help resolve the situations for our patients. Patient preferences can be different for each patient, but we have to present them with the options we developed from our personal experiences, expertise, and the current research evidence from EBP to be able make those decisions they prefer and value. In order to understand the patient’s preferences and values, we must first listen to them. (Ginex, 2018, para. 5). The patient preferences and value come with honing our interpersonal communication skills we continue to use to improve. Health care professionals help to improve their practice by using EBP with their personal experiences and expertise. (Griffith University, 2021, para. 1).