Editorial

Article Outline

• Copyright

Health care is a highly complex system with many broken parts, but for every broken part, there are examples of excellence. Quality improvements are no longer a fringe philosophy in health care. It is now the mainstream approach for ensuring that the best possible care is delivered to every patient and family every day.

All improvement requires change; however, not all change is improvement. Knowing the difference between change and ineffective ones requires intellectual discipline and honesty. A foundation of evidence, facts, and science can cultivate wise changes that can help improve the lives of our most vulnerable patients and families. Best practices in health care, whether they emerge from formal research or from clinical practice, often spread far more slowly than they should.

I am pleased to introduce Dr Sharyn Gibbins, RN, NNP, PhD, as our guest editor for the September 2008 Newborn and Infant Nursing Reviews issue “evidence-based practice.” Sharyn is the head of Interdisciplinary Research at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Center in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

The various articles presented in this issue incorporate evolving science and new knowledge into practice. It is each of our responsibility to practice based on the latest evidence and standards and guidelines from professional associations. “The way we've always done it” is no longer the way to promote safe care of infants. Staying current may seem challenging given our increasingly busy schedules; however, infants and families are relying on us to provide the best care possible based on the latest rigorous science.