Locating Credible Databases and Research

Assessment 1

Locating Credible Databases and Research

Create a 2-4 page resource that will describe databases that are relevant to EBP around a diagnosis you chose and could be used to help a new hire nurse better engage in EBP.

Introduction

Evidence-based practice (EBP) integrates the best evidence available to guide optimal nursing care, with a goal to enhance safety and quality. EBP is crucial to nursing practice because it incorporates the best evidence from current literature, along with the expertise of the practicing nurse. The concern for quality care that flows from EBP generates a desired outcome. Without these factors, a nurse cannot be an effective leader. It is important to lead not only from this position but from knowledge and expertise. To gain the knowledge, you require a good understanding of how to search for scholarly resources, as well as identify which databases and websites are credible for the purposes of implementing evidence-based changes in practice.

Scenario

You are supervising three nurses working on the medical-surgical floor of a local teaching hospital. This hospital is nationally recognized as a leader in education and has a computer lab with an online library where staff has access to medical research databases (that is, CINAHL, PubMed, Medline, and Cochrane library) and online sources of all hospital policies, procedures, and guidelines, and computers at nurse workstations that also have access to these resources. (For this scenario, use the Capella University Library to simulate the hospital's online library.) You have given the nurses their patient assignments and you have all participated in shift report. A new nurse who just completed orientation and training a week ago approaches you and tells you that one of the assigned patients has a diagnosis he or she is very unfamiliar with. Knowing that patient-centered care based on best practices is imperative to positive patient outcomes, you want to assist this nurse to find research that can be utilized to provide the best care for this patient. Describe how you would communicate with this nurse to encourage him or her to research the diagnosis. Assume you will assist in the quest to locate evidence, then describe where you would go within the facility and what resources you would look for. These resources may include websites, journals, facility policies or guidelines, or any other sources of online information.

You may choose the diagnosis for the patient in this scenario or health care issue/diagnosis of your choice. Or you may choose something you would find interesting to research or that applies to a clinical problem/diagnosis you would be interested in addressing. Create a list of at least five sources that could be used to find evidence, with the best source listed first, and explain why the sources you chose are best to find evidence for the diagnosis you chose and the clinical scenario. You are only evaluating the sources of evidence (database, website, policy database or website, journal article, et cetera). You are not actually completing a search and selecting evidence. Consider the following examples: a nursing journal in CINAHL may not be the best source of evidence for information on how to administer medications through a central-venous catheter, whereas a hospital policy database found on a website may not be the best source of information on caring for a patient with a rare chromosomal abnormality.

Instructions

The purpose of this assessment is to understand where to find evidence that can be applied to clinical scenarios and to learn effective communication and collaboration with clinical staff during the process of evidence location. As a baccalaureate-prepared nurse, you will not only use research for self-improvement in your clinical role, but you will also serve as a mentor to supervised nursing staff. Therefore, you will need to be able to communicate and collaborate effectively to guide them toward resources to find research, as well as support them through the initial evidence location process. In doing so, nurses can gain access to evidence that can be analyzed and utilized to stay current on best practices. This allows them to provide safe, patient-centered care and improve patient outcomes.

For this assessment:

Describe your role as a baccalaureate-prepared nurse supervising clinical staff nurses with regard to communication and collaboration in locating evidence for application to a nursing practice scenario.

Compile a list of five online databases or other online sources (that is, websites, journals, facility policies or guidelines, et cetera) that can be used to research evidence to apply to this scenario or clinical practice issue/diagnosis and describe to which of these you would direct a nurse colleague to search for evidence.

Describe where you might go in the work place to complete this research and how you would access the desired, relevant research within research databases or other online sources.

Be sure to address the following in this assessment, which correspond to the grading criteria in the scoring guide. Please study the scoring guide carefully so that you will know what is needed for a distinguished score.

Describe communication strategies to encourage nurses to research the diagnosis/practice issue, as well as strategies to collaborate with the nurses to access resources.

Describe the best places to complete research and what types of resources you would want to access to find pertinent information for the diagnosis/health care issue within the context of a specific health care setting.

Identify five sources of online information (medical journal databases, websites, hospital policy databases, et cetera) that could be used to locate evidence for a clinical diagnosis/practice issue.

Explain why the sources of online information selected should provide the best evidence for the chosen diagnosis/health care issue.

Communicate using writing that is clear, logical, and professional with correct grammar and spelling using current APA style.

Assessment 3

PICO(T) Questions and an Evidence-Based Approach

Create a 3-5 page submission in which you develop a PICO(T) question for a specific care issue and evaluate the evidence you locate, which could help to answer the question .

Introductions

PICO(T) is an acronym that helps researchers and practitioners define aspects of a potential study or investigation.

It stands for:

P - Patient/population/problem.

I - Intervention.

C - Comparison (of potential interventions, typically).

O - Outcome(s).

T - Time frame (if time frame is relevant).

The end goal of applying PICO(T) is to develop a question that can help guide the search for evidence (Boswell & Cannon, 2015). From this perspective, a PICO(T) question can be a valuable starting point for nurses who are starting to apply an evidence-based model or EBPs. By taking the time to precisely define the areas in which the nurse will be looking for evidence, searches become more efficient and effective. Essentially, by precisely defining the types of evidence within specific areas, the nurse will be more likely to discover relevant and useful evidence during their search. When applying the PICO(T) approach, the nurse can isolate the interventions of interest and compare to other existing interventions for the evidenced impact on the outcome of the concern.

You are encouraged to complete the Vila Health PICO(T) Process activity before you develop the plan proposal. This activity offers an opportunity to practice working through creating a PICO(T) question within the context of an issue at a Vila Health facility. These skills will be necessary to complete Assessment 3 successfully. This is for your own practice and self-assessment and demonstrates your engagement in the course.

Scenario

For this assessment, please use a health care issue of interest from your current or past nursing practice. If you do not have an issue of interest from your personal nursing practice, then review the optional Case Studies presented in the resources and select one of those as the basis for your assessment.

Instructions

For this assessment, select a health care issue of interest and apply the PICO(T) process to develop the research question and research it.

Your initial goal is to define the population, intervention, comparison, and outcome. In some cases, a time frame is relevant, and you should include that as well, when writing a question you can research related to your issue of interest. After you define your question, research it, and organize your initial findings, select the two sources of evidence that seem the most relevant to your question and analyze them in more depth. Specifically, interpret each source's specific findings and best practices related to your issues, as well explain how the evidence would help you plan and make decisions related to your question.

If you need some structure to organize your initial thoughts and research, the PICOT Question and Research Template document (accessible from the "Create PICO(T) Questions" page in the Capella library's Evidence Based Practice guide) might be helpful.

In your submission, make sure you address the following grading criteria:

Define a practice issue to be explored via a PICO(T) approach. Create a PICO(T)-formatted research question.

Identify sources of evidence that could be potentially effective in answering a PICO(T) question (databases, journals, websites, etc.).

Explain the findings from articles or other sources of evidence as it relates to the identified health care issue.

Explain the relevance of the findings from chosen sources of evidence to making decision related to a PICO(T) question.

Communicate using writing that is clear, logical, and professional with correct grammar and spelling using the current APA style.

Assessment 2

Determining the Credibility of Evidence and Resources

Develop a 2-4 page scholarly paper in which you describe a quality or safety issue, or a chosen diagnosis, and then identify and analyze credible evidence that could be used as the basis for applying EBP to the issue.

Introduction

The goal of using evidence-based research findings is to enhance safety and quality of patient care and ensure optimal outcomes are achieved. It is not uncommon to hear a nurse say, "why change it as we’ve always done it this way." However, this is no longer acceptable in today's practice environment. The profession of nursing has evolved, and the expectation is that the professional nurse has a scientific foundation to support the care that is provided. As the profession of nursing continues to evolve and engage in health care transformation, baccalaureate-prepared nurses are expanding taking on leadership roles that include incorporating EBPs. To be able to do this, the nurse needs to understand the criteria and makes a resource credible, as this is crucial when deciding if the research is valid and reliable for implementation into health care settings. The nurse will need to incorporate the use of evidence-based practice models. EBP models are designed to assist the nurse in developing a plan to gather evidence to answer a practice problem or question. It is a systematic approach to direct the user to incorporate scholarly findings into current practice. These EBP models lead the nurse through the decision-making process of evaluating the literature to determine the best practice evidence for the practice issue or question.

It would be an excellent choice to complete the Vila Health Determining the Credibility of Evidence activity prior to developing the report. The activity is a media simulation that offers an opportunity to review a scenario and work on determining the credibility of presented evidence. These skills will be necessary to complete Assessment 2 successfully. This media simulation is one potential source of context on which to base your assessment submission. This will take just a few minutes of your time and is not graded.

Scenario

For this assessment, you may choose from the following options as the context for the quality or safety issue or chosen diagnosis/health issue for researching and completing this assessment:

The specific diagnosis/health issue you identified in your previous assessment.

The simulation Vila Health: Determining the Credibility of Evidence.

A personal practice experience in which a sentinel event occurred.

Instructions

The purpose of this analysis is to better understand what constitutes credibility of journal articles as well as websites. The role of the baccalaureate-prepared nurse in incorporating evidence-based research continues to growth in clinical practice. As quality improvement (QI) measures to reduce safety risks continue to be emphasized, the need for evidence-based models and evidence-based templates is growing. This type of systematic approach to incorporating evidence-based findings allows nurses to make clinical and operational decisions based upon the best available evidence. When the most up-to-date evidence-based findings are utilized, patient-centered care improves outcomes and enhances the patient experience.

Below is a quick review table of several well-known Evidence-Based Practice Models used to guide exploration:

Evidence-Based Practice Models

Iowa Model of Evidence-Based Practice

Stetler Model

Ottawa Model

PARiHS (Promoting Action on Research Implementation in Health Services) Model

ACE (Academic Center for Evidence-Based Practice) Star Model

ARCC (Advancing Research and Clinical Practice Through Close Collaboration) Mode

John Hopkins Model

KTA (Knowledge-to-Action) Model

For this assessment:

Explain the criteria that should be used when determining the credibility of journal articles as well as websites.

Support your explanations with references to the literature or research articles that describe criteria that should be used to determine credibility.

Your identification and determination of credibility should be done within the context of your chosen scenario for this assessment. For example, if you choose to use the provided Vila Health scenario, your initial identification of resources should be of resources that will best help address the presented issue. However, if you are locating resources to help provide evidence-based care for the diagnosis/health care issue you identified in the first assessment, you may want to begin your literature and evidence search from the databases that were identified. Any of the three scenario options are acceptable. So, pick the one that most interests you.

Be sure to address the following in this assessment, which correspond to the grading criteria in the scoring guide. Please study the scoring guide carefully so that you will know what is needed for a distinguished score.

Assessment 1

Locating Credible Databases and Research

Create a 2-4 page resource that will describe databases that are relevant to EBP around a diagnosis you chose and could be used to help a new hire nurse better engage in EBP.

Introduction

Evidence-based practice (EBP) integrates the best evidence available to guide optimal nursing care, with a goal to enhance safety and quality. EBP is crucial to nursing practice because it incorporates the best evidence from current literature, along with the expertise of the practicing nurse. The concern for quality care that flows from EBP generates a desired outcome. Without these factors, a nurse cannot be an effective leader. It is important to lead not only from this position but from knowledge and expertise. To gain the knowledge, you require a good understanding of how to search for scholarly resources, as well as identify which databases and websites are credible for the purposes of implementing evidence-based changes in practice.

Scenario

You are supervising three nurses working on the medical-surgical floor of a local teaching hospital. This hospital is nationally recognized as a leader in education and has a computer lab with an online library where staff has access to medical research databases (that is, CINAHL, PubMed, Medline, and Cochrane library) and online sources of all hospital policies, procedures, and guidelines, and computers at nurse workstations that also have access to these resources. (For this scenario, use the Capella University Library to simulate the hospital's online library.) You have given the nurses their patient assignments and you have all participated in shift report. A new nurse who just completed orientation and training a week ago approaches you and tells you that one of the assigned patients has a diagnosis he or she is very unfamiliar with. Knowing that patient-centered care based on best practices is imperative to positive patient outcomes, you want to assist this nurse to find research that can be utilized to provide the best care for this patient. Describe how you would communicate with this nurse to encourage him or her to research the diagnosis. Assume you will assist in the quest to locate evidence, then describe where you would go within the facility and what resources you would look for. These resources may include websites, journals, facility policies or guidelines, or any other sources of online information.

You may choose the diagnosis for the patient in this scenario or health care issue/diagnosis of your choice. Or you may choose something you would find interesting to research or that applies to a clinical problem/diagnosis you would be interested in addressing. Create a list of at least five sources that could be used to find evidence, with the best source listed first, and explain why the sources you chose are best to find evidence for the diagnosis you chose and the clinical scenario. You are only evaluating the sources of evidence (database, website, policy database or website, journal article, et cetera). You are not actually completing a search and selecting evidence. Consider the following examples: a nursing journal in CINAHL may not be the best source of evidence for information on how to administer medications through a central-venous catheter, whereas a hospital policy database found on a website may not be the best source of information on caring for a patient with a rare chromosomal abnormality.

Instructions

The purpose of this assessment is to understand where to find evidence that can be applied to clinical scenarios and to learn effective communication and collaboration with clinical staff during the process of evidence location. As a baccalaureate-prepared nurse, you will not only use research for self-improvement in your clinical role, but you will also serve as a mentor to supervised nursing staff. Therefore, you will need to be able to communicate and collaborate effectively to guide them toward resources to find research, as well as support them through the initial evidence location process. In doing so, nurses can gain access to evidence that can be analyzed and utilized to stay current on best practices. This allows them to provide safe, patient-centered care and improve patient outcomes.

For this assessment:

Describe your role as a baccalaureate-prepared nurse supervising clinical staff nurses with regard to communication and collaboration in locating evidence for application to a nursing practice scenario.

Compile a list of five online databases or other online sources (that is, websites, journals, facility policies or guidelines, et cetera) that can be used to research evidence to apply to this scenario or clinical practice issue/diagnosis and describe to which of these you would direct a nurse colleague to search for evidence.

Describe where you might go in the work place to complete this research and how you would access the desired, relevant research within research databases or other online sources.

Be sure to address the following in this assessment, which correspond to the grading criteria in the scoring guide. Please study the scoring guide carefully so that you will know what is needed for a distinguished score.

Describe communication strategies to encourage nurses to research the diagnosis/practice issue, as well as strategies to collaborate with the nurses to access resources.

Describe the best places to complete research and what types of resources you would want to access to find pertinent information for the diagnosis/health care issue within the context of a specific health care setting.

Identify five sources of online information (medical journal databases, websites, hospital policy databases, et cetera) that could be used to locate evidence for a clinical diagnosis/practice issue.

Explain why the sources of online information selected should provide the best evidence for the chosen diagnosis/health care issue.

Communicate using writing that is clear, logical, and professional with correct grammar and spelling using current APA style.