geriatrics. n Review the protocols, and keep in mind they reflect assessment and intervention strategies for acute care, recommended by experts who have reviewed the evidence. This evidence is from all levels of care (e.g., community, primary care, long-term care) and not necessarily the hospital setting and should be applied to the unique needs of the individual patient. n The focus should always be patient centered, which takes into consideration many other factors specific to the individual. n Review the case study and discussion in each topic, which provides a more real life, practical manner in which the protocol may be applied in clinical practice. n Resources in each chapter to provide easy access to tools discussed in the chapter and to link readers with organizations that provide on-going, up-to-date information and resources on the topic. n An Appendix provides additional geriatric-specific resources for the reader that can be applied to all topics. Introduction xvii Although this book is entitled Evidence-Based Geriatric Nursing: Protocols for Best Practice, the text may be utilized by educators for geriatric nursing courses and advance practice nurses and by many other disciplines including interdisciplinary team members, nursing home and other staff educators, social workers, dieticians, advance practice nurses, physician assistants, and physicians. Many interventions that are proactively identified and implemented by nurses can make a significant difference in improving outcomes, but nurses cannot provide for the complex needs of older adults in isolation. Research has shown that interdisciplinary teams have dramatically improved geriatric patient care and outcomes. We know that communication and collaboration are essential to improve care coordination and prevent iatrogenic complications (IOM, 2001). Caring for the older adult, as the baby boom population continues to “age in,” will be an ultimate challenge in healthcare. Each of us must work together and be committed to provide a culture of safety that vulnerable older adults need in order to receive the safest, evidence-based clinical care with optimum outcomes. Marie Boltz Elizabeth Capezuti Terry Fulmer DeAnne Zwicker References AGREE Next Steps Consortium. (2009). Appraisal of guidelines for research & evaluation II. Retrieved from http://www.agreetrust.org/?o=1397 Institute of Medicine. (2001). Crossing the quality chasm: A new health system for the 21st century. Washington, DC: National Academy Press. Levin, R. F., & Vetter, M. (2007). Evidence-based practice: A guide to negotiate the clinical practice guideline maze. Research and Theory for Nursing Practice, 21(1), 5–9. Melnyk, B. M., & Fineout-Overholt, E. (2011). Evidence-based practice in nursing & healthcare: A guide to best practice (2nd ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Singleton, J. K., & Levin, R. F. (2008). Strategies for learning evidence-based practice: Critically appraising clinical practice guidelines. Journal of Nursing Education, 47(8), 380–383. Stetler, C. B., Morsi, D., Rucki, S., Broughton, S., Corrigan, B., Fitzgerald, J., . . . Sheridan, E. A. (1998). Utilization-focused integrative reviews in a nursing service. Applied Nursing Research, 11(4), 195–206. Evidence-Based Geriatric Nursing Protocols for Best Practice 1 Clinical decision making that is grounded in the best available evidence is essential to promote patient safety and quality health care outcomes. With the knowledge base for geriatric nursing rapidly expanding, assessing geriatric clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) for their validity and incorporation of the best available evidence is critical to the safety and outcomes of care. In the second edition of this book, Lucas and Fulmer (2003) challenged geriatric nurses to take the lead in the assessment of geriatric clinical practice guidelines (CPGs), recognizing that in the absence of best evidence, guidelines and protocols have little value for clinical decision making. In the third edition of this book, Levin, Singleton, and Jacobs (2008) proposed a method for ensuring that the protocols included in the book were based on a systematic review of the literature and synthesis of best evidence. The purpose of this chapter is to describe the process that was used to create the fourth