Evidence-Based Practice for Nurses

1. When attending a conference, which of the following behaviors are acceptable? (Select
   all that apply.)
   a. Wear business attire.
   b. Keep cell phones on silent or vibrate.
   c. Feel free to come in and out of sessions at will.
   d. Share business cards with other attendees.


2. Which of the following strategies help make the most of conferences? (Select all that apply.)
   a. Attending receptions
   b. Attending all sessions with your friends
   c. Planning a schedule in advance
   d. Talking with experts

TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE 19-4

How did you do? 1. a, b, d; 2. a, c, d

19.5 Keeping It Ethical

At the end of this section, you will be able to:

‹ Identify ethical concerns when presenting or publishing

‹ Discuss why nurses are obligated to participate in the process of dissemination

Ethical principles related to the dissemination of EBP are as critical as ethical
principles are in research conduct (Garcia, 2004). One critical ethical practice
is to acknowledge authorship on all scholarly works. There are numerous guide-
lines to distinguish individuals who are authors from those who contributed
to the study or project (Welker & McCue, 2006). To be an author, one should
have made significant contributions to the ideas in the paper, participated in
data analysis, contributed to the process of writing, and given approval on the
final version of the paper (Ohler, 2003).

Another ethical consideration involving the 3 Ps relates to conflict of interest.
Conflict of interest is a concept that refers to a situation when an individual
may personally benefit from his or her actions. For example, a nurse may be
paid by a company to promote a new device or drug during a presentation. It
is not uncommon for presenters and authors to have to sign a form disclosing
a conflict of interest, and sometimes presenters may have to add a slide to their
presentation stating whether or not a conflict of interest exists (Ohler, 2003).

Presenters and authors also have to disclose off-label use of drugs if given
during a study. When a drug is used in a different way than described in the

19.5 Keeping It Ethical 509