What is best practice?

I have been around for nearly 30 years within the field of urology and continence in various different roles. From specialist nurse in urology and setting up a continence advisory service within the NHS to nursing and sales roles or large and smaller companies before choosing to set up Wymedical.

Setting up my own company has been enjoyable if not challenging but one thing that really comes to the forefront is ‘What is best practice?’

When I started my RGN nurse training at Westminster hospital in London attention to detail and best practice were instilled in us, every ward and department had a procedure folder where you could refresh your knowledge. In this day and age you are expected under the NMC code http://www.nmc-uk.org/The-revised-Code/ to ‘Always practise in line with the best available evidence’ yet I continuously come across nurses and carers carrying out procedures differently to how I would have undertaken them. So this comes back to the question, ‘What is best practice?’ and then adds further questions such as ‘How is best practice monitored? Along with ‘Where do people go to gain knowledge?’

I am passionate about wanting to maintain best practice and improve practices, my first step is writing this blog which I hope will get people thinking and provoke discussions in different aspects of continence and urology.