Reflection on Evidence-Based Practice

During my time at Touro University Nevada, I can say with a great deal of confidence
that I have grown most in my leadership roles and in my understanding and use of evidencebased practice (EBP). When I was completing my undergraduate education and working in child
life, I always knew that best practice meant research-backed, evidence-based interventions.
However, in the relatively new academic field of child life (CL), it was difficult to act as a
consumer of research as limited studies on the efficacy of CL interventions existed at the time
(even though anecdotal evidence clearly indicates the need for CL services during pediatric
health care encounters). I therefore easily understood the need for evidence-based practice in the
world of occupational therapy, and I quickly became comfortable with seeking it out and
reasoning how to best utilize the results and findings in practice.
Though I began the program with a certain level of comfort and competence in
identifying appropriate EBP, I was still very intimidated by the process of creating it. Though
they were both challenging projects, I am really glad that my classmates and I had the chance to
create both quantitative and qualitative studies during our first and second semesters. It really
helped us all to understand the process of designing studies and the effort required to complete
them. Completing the critically-appraised topic (CAT) project in fourth semester was also really
challenging but offered us the chance to comb through the available evidence in journals and
publications related to OT, developmental pediatrics, and nursing in order to find the best
research regarding the Newborn Individualized Developmental Care and Assessment Program
(NIDCAP). All of these experiences made me much more comfortable searching available
databases in order to find assessment and intervention options to use with several patients during
my first level II fieldwork placement in inpatient rehab. It also made me more comfortable with

the idea that I may one day want to be involved with clinical and/or academic research once I
settle into my career. I have come to realize that the future of our profession lies in the
importance of showing that OT practice can be powerful, effective, and can have long-term
effects on the independence and quality of life of patients. From insurance reimbursement to
client and coworker buy-in, it is vitally important to show that the work we do can uniquely
benefit individuals across the lifespan and in a variety of clinical settings.