Skill Profile
Evidence-Based Practice
"Selecting and applying interventions or decisions based on the best available research evidence, combined with professional judgement and the patient or client's own values."
YOUR SKILLS
Problems This Skill Solves
- Treatment decisions based on outdated habit or anecdote rather than current best evidence
- Wasted resources on interventions with no proven benefit
- Inconsistent care between practitioners treating similar cases differently without justification
- Difficulty defending clinical decisions during audit, appraisal or litigation
Evidence-based practice means always following the guideline exactly.
It means weighing the evidence alongside clinical judgement and the individual patient's circumstances and preferences.
Personal clinical experience doesn't count as evidence.
The model explicitly combines research evidence with clinical expertise and patient values, not research alone.
Research & Outlook
AI literature-summarisation tools are making it faster to survey the evidence base on a clinical question, but critically appraising study quality and adapting findings to an individual patient remain professional judgement calls.
See This Skill In Action
Watch a professional demonstrate Evidence-Based Practice in a real working environment — what it looks like, how it's applied, and why it matters.
Healthcare / Clinical Practice
Evidence-Based Practice
Also Known As
Growth Path
Follows established evidence-based guidelines and protocols in day-to-day practice.
Critically appraises research literature and applies findings to adapt practice for individual cases.
Leads clinical audits, contributes to guideline development, and challenges outdated practice with current evidence.
How to Practise
- 1.Run a structured literature search on a clinical question you've encountered and critically appraise the top studies found
- 2.Complete a CASP-based critical appraisal of a randomised controlled trial
- 3.Compare your team's current practice against the latest NICE guideline and note discrepancies
- 4.Present a journal club summarising a paper's methodology, findings and practice implications
How to Prove
- ·A completed clinical audit comparing practice against evidence-based standards
- ·Journal club presentations or published critical appraisals
- ·Evidence of changing personal or team practice in response to new research