NURSING

1

6

Replace with Your Paper Title

Replace with Your Name

Southwest Minnesota State University

Department of Nursing

Replace with date in word format for the month—for example: August4, 2025

Abstract

Write a one paragraph summary using double spacing of your project here. The abstract should be on a separate page. This is the only paragraph in the entire paper that is not paragraph start indented. Write the abstract after writing the paper.See Chapter 11 by Leibold for tips on writing abstracts. Abstracts summarize the paper/project. Abstracts are different from introductions. Introductions introduce the topic, whereas abstracts summarize the entire project.Most people write the paper or at least most of the paper before writing the abstract. The summary in the abstracts gives an overview to interest the reader—hook them to want to learn more about your project, without giving too much detail. Narrow the abstract summary to four or five points:

1. Summarize the topic and explain why this topic is important (1-2 sentences).

2. Tell the setting or population for your project (include items such as geography, age, gender, health concern, setting, etc. as applicable).

3. Give a one sentence overview of the project. Include any theories (for example, stress theory, pain theory, Caring Science, infection control framework) used to guide the project.

4. Tell any results, findings, evidence summaries, or recommendations based on evidence.

5. End with a summary sentence that tells the application or implications for nursing practice.

Next, check the word count of the abstract. APA format is less than 250 words. Every conference has a different rule for the word count maximum. The SMSU Undergraduate Research Conference has set a maximum of 150 words. Strive for between 150 and 250 words. Depending on your word count, you may need to revise to meet this requirement. Believe it or not—this can be the toughest part! Eliminate any wordy phrases or unnecessary words.

Keywords: replace with four or five keywords (or key phrases) for your project at the end of the abstract.

Replace with Your Paper Title

Replace these words with a one paragraph introduction to your topic. The paragraph should start with an interesting quote or statistic to hook the reader’s interest. Explain why the topic is important in nursing practice. The last sentence of the paragraph should be the thesis statement.

The Clinical Topic/Problem (replace this heading with a custom heading to your topic) and the PICOT Question

Write one to two paragraph section that tells the reader the background and importance of the topic. Be sure to cite sources and include the full APA references on the Reference Page. Consider a statistic of how many people are impacted. Consider including a story of why this topic is important. Include the intervention PICOT question in sentence format within this paragraph (bold the PICOT question). Be sure to include all the required components in the PICOT question. T or time is the only component that is not required. Use the topic introduction and PICOT question you previously wrote in this course. Revise anything based on feedback and copy and paste here.

Literature Review

For your paper, replace these words with your literature review of the three-peer reviewed research journal articles here in this section. Organize the section by grouping similar articles as possible. Use sub-headings as needed. Be sure your articles are research and current within 5 to 7 years. You may check this with your faculty member via email if you wish by sending her the full APA references. Your course faculty are happy to help you! Please remember to include plenty of time for faculty to respond (faculty are not required to respond on weekends, fall break, spring break, or holidays). Evidence-based practice is new for students and please know that your faculty are very happy to help you! Please email faculty and ask any questions you have! Or if you want your faculty to check your work and make sure you are on the right path—your facultyare happy to help you! All the research articles should be current and dated within 5 to 7 years of publication. Use the prompts and summaries you wrote for the preparation worksheet assignment. Revise anything based on feedback and copy and paste here.

Assumptions

Replace this wording with the assumptions about your project you wrote previously in this course. Use any feedback you received to revise and update the assumptions. If this seems challenging to you, review chapter 10. Assumptions and Making Recommendations for Evidence-Based Practice of Leibold (2020). List three assumptions you have related to your recommended interventions/project. This paper section should be one to two paragraphs in length.

Recommended Interventions

In this section, replace these words with your recommended interventions that are based on the research articles you reviewed above, and you previously wrote in this course. Update with any feedback from faculty (if any).Include a brief description of the workplace organization culture and readiness for change. Be sure to cite the evidence with the source and explain the interventions you recommend for practice.

Dissemination or Presentation Strategies

In this section, replace these words with how you would (hypothetically) disseminate this project to other nurses and healthcare providers. See Leibold’s textbook, Chapter 11 dissemination and select a dissemination strategy of your choice (for example, oral presentation, inservices, poster, social media, etc.) that you would use hypothetically to disseminate your EBP project. Explain who the intended audience is why the dissemination strategy is a good match for the audience. This is a one paragraph section.

Lifelong Learning and Evidence-Based Practice

In this section, replace these words with your thoughts and ideas about how lifelong learning connects to evidence-based practice. Answer these questions in one paragraph: How does lifelong learning relate to evidence-based practice? How does evidence-based practice relate to lifelong learning? Explain your values related to lifelong learning and evidence-based practice.

Conclusion or Summary

In this section, replace these words with a one paragraph summary of the paper. It should review the items you have already presented. It should not include any new information. This is your last opportunity as a writer to leave the key take-away points from your paper fresh in the mind of the reader! Review at least two key-takeaway points for the reader to remember.

References

List your references on this paper in alphabetical order by the first author’s last name in APA format. Double space. Omit these prompting words.

You may be able to copy and paste some of the references from the preparation worksheet and add others. If you need any help at all with APA formatting, please do not hesitate to ask your faculty! This is Leibold’s APA source if you want to look up format: https://softchalkcloud.com/lesson/serve/s4LNqcvutodhGW/html