Running Head: FINAL EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICE REFLECTION

Final Evidence-based Practice Reflection

Shantel Bishoff
Touro University Nevada

FINAL EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICE REFLECTION

Throughout my educational endeavors at Touro University Nevada, I have come to
develop an immense amount of appreciation and knowledge regarding evidence-based practice
and its importance within my career. At the beginning of my first semester I was asked to
complete a research project based on quantitative information utilizing current evidence on a
subject of question and following the chosen question with distributed surveys throughout my
cohort. I initially struggled with this assignment due to my negative preconceived perceptions of
research based on past educational experiences. I recall finding it extremely difficult to sort
through a research article to obtain the necessary information that was needed to further increase
the validity of my study. But as the semesters progressed I began to understand the concepts of
research, as well as the importance of retrieving this level of evidence to support initial studies.
During semester two, I performed a quantitative research based study utilizing personal
interviews to gain a better understanding of the past experiences of individuals throughout my
cohort and how these experiences influenced the decision of choosing a helping career.
Throughout my research I found many studies acknowledging the concept of compassion fatigue
and its prevalence amongst caregivers and those who are so willing to give of themselves before
caring for their own needs. It was interesting to find this evidence and connect it with many of
the interviewee responses I gained during personal interviews. I was able to use the current
evidence to help provide an educational tool to my interviewees regarding self-reflection and
awareness based on these choices and found this information to be pertinent to our studies
success.
During fourth semester, I participated in a critically appraised topic, which was a research
study in which I had to comprehensively read, analyze and understand the reliability, validity and
applicability of each individual study. This is the moment I feel that I truly gained a better

FINAL EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICE REFLECTION

understanding of evidence-based research and its importance to my profession as an occupational
therapist. I learned the best ways to discover the level of evidence for various articles, as well as
gained an ability to scan an article to understand its relevance and pertinence to my current study.
I was able to sort through twenty-five different articles, all of various levels of evidence to
further increase my knowledge of the effects of exercise on children diagnosed with autism
spectrum disorder (ASD). Through an increased understanding of the current literature available
on my chosen topic, I was able to determine an outcome measure regarding the incorporation of
exercise within a treatment regimen for youth diagnosed with ASD. Performing this in-depth
research study helped to increase my ability to understand and comprehend the current literature
on my specific topic. This also helped to further increase my ability to research articles
throughout several various databases to ensure that I was gathering the most applicable
information to my study. The techniques I learned while performing this research are skills that
have helped me grow immensely on an academic level.
Before entering my level two fieldwork placement, I was able to utilize my skills gained
from the previous semester to perform self-directed research in order to better understand the
population I was going to be working with, as well as the current research that was in the
literature regarding appropriate intervention techniques. Once I began treating my own caseload,
I found these skills to be very influential to my success as a clinician. I appreciate and
acknowledge the importance of evidence now, more than I ever thought I would. Not only was I
able to provide appropriate treatments for the children I was treating, but the evidence I had
studied helped me to provide sufficient knowledge and information to the parents as well. My
ability to grasp the importance of these concepts has helped to increase the trust I had within
each and every client-family relationship I took part in. I enjoyed discovering the many different

FINAL EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICE REFLECTION

treatment approaches that had been proven effective for specific populations and having the
ability to utilize them throughout my treatment interventions to further increase each clients
overall success.
Occupational therapy is such a unique career in that it is very much based on evidence
and its applicability to our everyday lives. I know that there will be many times a client or
family member may question a therapeutic choice or the reasoning behind it; and I feel very
confident in my ability to express my knowledge and understanding of the specific research and
evidence currently in the literature that I will be using to help guide my implementation of
therapeutic care through using the best, most efficient, client-centered practice.