Throughout this course you have focused on practice problems to address in applying nursing and interdisciplinary theories, and in the application of evidence-based practice for quality improvement. This week you begin exploring the components of evidence-based practice by framing a practice problem as a critical question. You will begin a search of the literature for evidence to answer the question and inform a practice change for quality improvement.
RESOURCES
- Dang, D., Dearholt, S. L., Bissett, K., Ascenzi, J., & Walen, M. (Eds.). (2021). Johns Hopkins nursing evidence-based practice: Model and guidelines (4th ed.). Sigma Theta Tau International.
- Chapter 4, “The Practice Question” (pp. 73–98)
- Walden University Library. (n.d.). Evaluating resources: Primary & secondary sourcesLinks to an external site.. https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/library/evaluating/sourcesLinks to an external site.
- Walden University Writing Center. (n.d.). Synthesizing your sourcesLinks to an external site.. https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/assignments/literaturereview/synthesizing
- Westlake, C. (2012). Practical tips for literature synthesisLinks to an external site.. Clinical Nurse Specialist, 26(5), 244–249. https://doi.org/10.1097/NUR.0b013e318263d766Links to an external site.
TO PREPARE:
- Identify the practice problem as the focus of your Discussion post. You may use the same practice problem from earlier weeks or a different one.
- Review the chapter on practice questions in the Dang and Dearholt text and the Week 7 Media. With guidance from the Learning Resources, cast your practice problem as a critical question.
- Search the Walden Library for 4-5 scholarly articles that address your critical question.
- View the resource for synthesizing the evidence found in week 7 learning resources. Share the component of the evidence synthesis process that resonated with you. Explain how that component is reflected in your synthesis of the evidence (articles you selected to support your practice problem and critical question).
- Analyze the articles to identify evidence that would guide quality improvement.
- Return to the stakeholders that were the audience for your Module 3 Assignment. Identify the specific quality improvement component in the evidence. Then consider how you would present it to that set of stakeholders to secure agreement and action.
With these thoughts in mind …
Post a brief explanation of your critical question. My critical question is: How do hospitalists handle admission requests from the emergency department?
Then, synthesize the 4-5 articles you identified that address your critical question. Using the same language, you would use with stakeholders, explain the critical question and the value of addressing it as a quality improvement initiative. Be specific. Cite scholarly articles and other resources to support your post.
