Evidence Based Practice

S: Stroke rehabilitation has been the subject of extensive research and discussion regarding optimal treatment. Due to the nature of the pathology, there have been differing ideologies branch off over the past few decades, as to what type of treatment is most beneficial for the patient. Therefore the research that has been done, attempts to objectively describe the treatment that has proven to give the best outcome for the patient. While working in an acute stroke rehab setting, it was part of my responsibility to the pt to discover what the evidenced suggested was best for the pt. In other words, it was a strong case of having evidence based practice behind my intervention.

T: To provide acute stroke rehabilitation to a pt caseload, that had been clinically shown through research to be the most effective intervention.

A: I was working on the ward with my senior Physiotherapist supervisor, Jacqui. Jacqui is very involved with current up to date research for stroke rehab. Therefore I consulted her as to the best resources to utilize as well as gaining information from her first hand. After liaising with Jacqui and my other supervisor, and consulting some of the documentation she had referred me to, I had an understanding of what was expected as far as treatment was concerned.

R: I believe as a result, all the pts on the ward were receiving the best possible rehab available in that setting. All the senior and registered physios were very up to date with the research. In turn this meant I could also have a good grasp on the research. Therefore the type of rehab was proven thrpugh clinical research. Most importantly however, it was evident first hand how effective the treatment was, as in many cases we were seeing encouraging improvement from the pts very early after the stroke.

E: I think having a good grasp on evidence based practice is very important in any area that you work in. it is the underlying foundation that supports what we are doing. Many physios develop a personal understanding or idea of what seems to work for them. However it is every physios responsibility to be up to date with the current research to ensure they are giving their clients or pts the best treatment available. It is always possible to measure baseline and if the treatment isn’t effective then change your approach, however clinical evidence is a very strong indicator. A couple of things I could have improved on include –
• Further practicing my application of intervention
• Consulting more specific articles to the types of stroke I was dealing with

S: Strategies I found effective were –
• Liaising with your clinical supervisor as to what resources are best to utilize.
• Brushing up on your evidence based practice knowledge so you have an understanding on what research is good and what’s not.
• Ensuring you gain a grasp on how to clinically apply that intervention. It is good that you are applying the appropriate intervention, but if you are doing it incorrectly then it becomes useless.