Implementing the Critical Care Pain Observation Tool using the Iowa Model.

Utilization of the Iowa Model of evidence-based practice (EBP) helps to facilitate change in nursing care. This was observed when an alteration in pain-rating assessment scales needed to be implemented at St. Joseph's Hospital Health Center in Syracuse, NY Research showed that the Critical Care Pain Observation Tool (CPOT) was psychometrically sound in assessing pain in the nonverbal (unconscious, unresponsive, and sedated) intensive care unit patient population. Successful implementation of a CPOT pilot program in the surgical intensive care unit at St. Joseph's was undertaken using the Iowa Model of EBP. Application of the Iowa Model provided a systematic framework for changing nursing practice by incorporating critical thinking, clinical inquiry and judgment, multidisciplinary collaboration, and facilitation of learning. As evidenced by implementation of the CPOT, organizational implementation of EBP using the Iowa Model positively impacts change across an entire healthcare continuum through the improvement of patient care processes.