Describe the difference between a nursing practice problem and a medical practice problem. Provide one example of each. PICOT is utilized by the health care community to identify and study a nursing or medical practice problem. Consequently, PICOT examples that may provide insight into the use of the PICOT process, may not be relevant to nursing practice as they are based on a medical practice problem. Describe the difference between a nursing practice problem and a medical practice problem. Provide one example of each. Discuss why is it important to ensure your PICOT is based on a nursing practice problem.

Nursing vs. Medical Practice Problem

Nursing practice problem assesses

Whereas a nursing practice problem is identified during the nursing assessments conducted on a patient’s condition, medical practice problem is one which focuses on the pathology of the patient. Specifically, a nursing practice problem assesses the human response to the health conditions (Milner & Cosme, 2017).

For example, when a patient presents to the facility with headaches, fever, and other physical symptoms, a triage nurse could identify the condition as a nursing practice problem, where they offer the patient the relevant nursing diagnosis. On the other hand, when a patient is seen to have a condition which requires his pathology to be assessed and the healthcare giver recognizes that it could be stroke, then this is a medical practice problem.

Why PICOT should be based on Nursing Practice Problem

A PICOT seeks to address various elements of nursing care, and hence it should be primarily based on a nursing practice problem and not on a medical practice problem. In the nursing practice problem, the care needs of the patient from the time they get out of the healthcare environment to the time they are diagnosed by the doctor to the after-care periods are addressed (Meyer, 2017).

Also, in the nursing practice problem, there is collection of information about the patient, and this helps to draw relevant conclusions based on the PICOT questions. This way, it is easy to collect diverse data about the patient and their condition. Also, with the nursing practice problem, it is more likely that the PICOT will improve population health.

References

Meyer, M. N. (2017). Evidence-Based Practice: Success of Practice Change Depends on the Question. Evidence-Based Practice in Nursing: Foundations, Skills, and Roles.

Milner, K. A., & Cosme, S. (2017). The PICO Game: An Innovative Strategy for Teaching Step 1 in Evidence‐Based Practice. Worldviews on Evidence‐Based Nursing, 14(6), 514-516.