Summary
Six health practitioners, namely, Mary Baker, Lyn Lednik, Karen Sullivan, Lucy O’Quinn, Marylyn Pointer, and Carolyn Smith authored an article, called Is Self-Administration of Subcutaneous Immunoglobulin Therapy Safe in a Home Care Setting. All of them were from the Home Healthcare Nurses group (HHC). The article goes through the evidence-based practice journey by questioning whether self-administration of Subcutaneous Immunoglobulin Therapy is safe in a Home Care Setting. The article underlines the fact that clinical practices that rely on evidence play an essential role in ensuring that patients get services that are safe and suitable. Members of a nursing inquiry council discussed the question posed above in detail.
The conference took place at a pediatric-based organization and considered the applicability to allow patients to be administered immunoglobulin therapy at home. Its possibility was to be determined through the evidence-based practice (EBP) project. The results of the experimental project showed that taking such steps could be satisfactory to the families and the patients as it did not show any side effects (Baker, Lednik, O’Quinn, Poynter, Sullivan & Smith 2013). In defining EBP, the authors described it as an amalgamation of investigated clinical readings, professional judgments, patients’ and families’ inclinations as well as worthiness. The relevance of EBP in nursing was well summarized in the article following this description.
Critique
How the article was presented indicates that it had been written after careful and thorough research. The article is presented in such a way that the information provided flows consistently from one concept to the other. The article outlines the reasons that make clinical nursing practices successful. The highlighted factors of success become evidence-based practices (EBP) that guide the safe and appropriate care given to patients by the nurses. The necessity of EBP to nursing practices includes the provision of a systematic technique used in research, allowing nurses to venture into modern practices, as well as enhancing the effectiveness of nursing as a profession.
The article has authoritatively explained the components and importance of gamma globulins which are categories of proteins found in blood plasma. The authors then narrow down to immunoglobulin which is commonly referred to as antibodies (Baker, Lednik, O’Quinn, Poynter, Sullivan & Smith 2013).
The functions of these proteins are the reasons advanced for scaling down the research to center on them. The article reviews the possibility of administering immunoglobulin G therapy to patients at home. The four leading steps in the article give an insight into the actual process followed before making recommendations that favor the implementation of the practice. The second step identifies some particular issues that were addressed in the EBP process to determine the possibility of introducing self-administration of subcutaneous immunoglobulin therapy safely in a home care environment.
Conclusion
The recommendations made by the team of the health practitioners involved in the research were based on the evidence they gathered during the project. Analysis of the article that gives a nod to implementation of the project confirms that the authors made implementation optional to the families and patients who could be interested in self or family application.
They would, however, undergo detailed teachings on the administration of the therapy by the nurses from HHC. In my opinion, the article was written professionally with utmost care for the safety of the patients and families. The implementation procedure was also outlined meaning that the authors intended to come up with an effective process that could make the practice applicable and safe.
Reference
Baker, M., Lednik, L., O’Quinn, L., Poynter, M., Sullivan, K. & Smith, C. (2013). Is Self- Administration of Subcutaneous Immunoglobulin Therapy Safe in a Home Care Setting? New York: Home Health Care Management & Practice.