Locating Credible Databases and Research Essay

Locating Credible Databases and Research Essay

Healthcare professionals need to be able to locate credible databases and research sources to access the most current and accurate information to inform their practice and improve patient outcomes. Choosing which sources of online information are relevant and credible can be challenging due to the proliferation of online information (Weathers, 2021). In addition to finding credible sources, the reputation of the journal or organization publishing the research, funding sources for the research, and the rigor of the methods can also be used to evaluate their credibility (Katowa-Mukwato et al., 2022). This paper aims to identify information sources, suggest the best communication strategies, and explain my role as a baccalaureate-prepared nurse in communication and collaboration for a case study that required evidence-based practice.

Case Scenario

A new nurse has been hired to offset the imbalance in the nurse-patient ratio in the medico-surgical unit of my facility. On her first day, the unit’s nurse manager assigned her to a patient who had sepsis. The patient developed borderline low blood pressure, slightly elevated heart rate, and slight confusion. Even though the nurse knew that her patient had sepsis, she was unsure what nursing diagnosis to assign her patient because of the risk of fats deterioration, multiple symptoms, and signs that the patient has her lack of knowledge of the protocols in the unit and limited time within which she had to perform full body physical examination. Within her hypothetical setting, various resources exist, such as nurse works station computers and hospital internet connection.

My Role as Baccalaureate-prepared Nurse

In my role as a baccalaureate-prepared nurse supervising this nurse, I would assist and guide her in locating evidence for application to her nursing practice. A primary objective of this approach would be to provide education and training in how to find, evaluate, and apply evidence-based research and other sources to the care of this patient, as well as to offer guidance on how to use these sources in clinical practice. Additionally, to support the nurse in finding evidence, I would facilitate communication and collaboration between members of the interdisciplinary team. Facilitating team meetings or rounds could be one way of discussing the patient’s case and identifying relevant evidence to inform care. It might also be helpful for the nurse to seek feedback from colleagues and other healthcare providers as necessary.

Communication Strategies to Encourage the Nurse to Look up her Diagnosis

This nurse will require to make a well-informed decision before providing care for this patient to ensure patient safety and care quality. These are some of the communication strategies that I would use to support and encourage the nurse to look up her diagnosis and access the resources and guidance needed to provide the best care for the patient. I will offer to help this client locate the best evidence to access evidence-based information on how to make appropriate diagnoses by offering to demonstrate the process in the unit. In the process, I would communicate to her through motivation by explaining to her the benefits of looking up the diagnosis from literature and how this would help her in future practice. This strategy would alleviate anxiety (Vnenchak et al., 2019). I would reassure her that it is normal to be frustrated and at a crossroads with certain patient cases. I will also encourage the nurse to collaborate with other nurses, both senior and junior, whenever facing challenges with care plans and diagnoses. This collaboration will ensure patient safety through shared decision-making and consultation as key collaborative approaches (Larsen et al., 2019). In the process of facilitating this nurse’s quest for clinical evidence, I will also explain to her the best resources and sources to complete her search.

Best Places to Complete the Search

The nurse has various areas in the workplace where she can find evidence-based information. The library is the first place she could go for this information search. The library has hardcopy guidelines and books. The hospital’s library also contains practice guidelines and hospital protocols for care for common conditions such as sepsis. Therefore, the library would be the first helpful database. However, there are alternatives to this because the physical library may be located far from the medico-surgical unit, or the search process for hardcopy information would be tedious and time-consuming. The nursing workstation computer will be an efficient place where she would retrieve this information faster and more efficiently. The workstation computer will require an internet connection and permitted access to the databases. Alternatively, she could use her smartphone for this search. Countless online databases for nursing and medical sciences are available for this search. However, she would need to seek this information from the best and most credible sources.

Sources of Online Information

Online databases and websites would provide appropriate information for the search for best practices in suspected sepsis complications. The following are some of the sources that would help locate evidence for sepsis diagnosis ad nursing care:

1. Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) is an extensive online database library for nursing and related health sciences that would be useful for this search. This source has different information sources such as journal articles, books, guidelines
2. PubMed is another online database with peer-reviewed articles, books, and guidelines on nursing and medical sciences. This source will be credible because it has relevant resources for the diagnosis from all health perspectives, including biotechnology and critical care.
3. Cochrane Library has various review sources that will provide quality filtered, specific high-level evidence about best practices in sepsis management. It would be a quality source for a search on sepsis management
4. Medline has various resources on broader topics that include sepsis. This database will provide access to articles and web-based information on sepsis from introduction to management; thus, it would be a relevant and useful database.
5. The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses website is a credible professional website that has essential evidence-based information on sepsis. The link to this website is here.

The rationale for the Above Sources

The above sources are popular databases for peer-reviewed and scholarly resources. They not only provide free and sometimes premium access to articles, books, guidelines, and protocols but also media and clinical research trials on health-related topics. Sepsis is a topic that cuts across nursing and medical fields and thus would be discussed in these sources extensively.

Conclusion

This paper has emphasized the need for healthcare professionals to locate credible databases and research sources to access accurate information and improve patient outcomes. The role of a baccalaureate-prepared nurse in communication and collaboration with junior nurses to locate evidence was also discussed, as well as strategies to encourage and support the junior nurse in researching a sepsis diagnosis. Additionally, the paper has highlighted the evaluation of the credibility of research sources, including useful databases for finding information on sepsis. Finally, the importance of consulting with colleagues and other healthcare providers as a source of guidance and support in finding evidence for clinical practice was highlighted.

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References

American Association of Critical-Care Nurses. (n.d.). Sepsis Guidelines for Nurses – AACN. Aacn.org. https://www.aacn.org/clinical-resources/sepsis

Katowa-Mukwato, P., Chitundu, K., Monde, M. W., Maimbolwa, M. M., & Jere, L. D. (2022). Evidence-based practice and critical thinking in nursing education and practice: A scoping review of the literature. International Journal of Nursing and Midwifery, 14(4), 65–80. https://doi.org/10.5897/ijnm2022.0511

Larsen, C. M., Terkelsen, A. S., Carlsen, A.-M. F., & Kristensen, H. K. (2019). Methods for teaching evidence-based practice: a scoping review. BMC Medical Education, 19(1), 259. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-019-1681-0

Vnenchak, K., Sperling, M. L., Kelley, K., Petersen, B., Silverstein, W., Petzoldt, O., Cooper, L., & Kowalski, M. O. (2019). Dedicated education unit improving critical thinking and anxiety: A longitudinal study: A longitudinal study. Journal for Nurses in Professional Development, 35(6), 317–323. https://doi.org/10.1097/NND.0000000000000586

Weathers, E. (2021). A creative teaching method for research and evidence-based practice. Nursing Education Perspectives, 42(1), 53–55. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.NEP.0000000000000539

Assessment 1 Instructions: 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.

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.

Creating an ePortfolio is not required in the BSN program, but you may find it helpful to create one to attach to your professional resume while job hunting. Online ePortfolios serve two key purposes: 1) to support learning and reflection, and 2) to be used as a showcase tool. Your learning journey can be documented, and ePortfolios contribute to lifelong learning and growth through reflection and sharing. Online ePortfolios can also be shared with employers and peers to present artifacts that demonstrate your accomplishments at Capella.

As a baccalaureate-prepared nurse, you will be responsible for providing patient-centered, competent care based on current evidence-based best practices. You will be required to do research, analysis, and dissemination of best evidence to stay abreast of these best practices. Understanding where to go to find credible sources and locate evidence, as well as which search terms to use, is the foundation of incorporation of best practices.

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

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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.

To help ensure you are prepared to complete this assessment, review the following resources related to the Capella library. These resources will provide you an overview of the types of tools, resources, and guides available in the library. This may be useful in forming a better understanding of the library to apply to the hypothetical situation laid out in the scenario of this assessment.

• BSN Program Library Research Guide.
• Evidence-Based Practice in Nursing & Health Sciences.
• Databases A-Z: Nursing & Health Sciences.
• Get Critical Search Skills.

 

Remember, it is also appropriate to look toward databases and resources outside of the Capella library, such as organizational policies, professional organizations, and government health care resources.

You are encouraged to complete the Evaluating the Credibility of Evidence activity. This activity offers an opportunity to practice evaluating the credibility of evidence. These skills will be necessary to complete Assessment 1 successfully and is for your own practice and self-assessment. Completing this activity is also a way to demonstrate course engagement.

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

 

• 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
• Describe where you might go in the work place to complete this research and how you would access the

 

desired relev

h within research datab      S          th                O

 

Be sure tO acLdress

in  assessment,

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

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

Note: While you are not selecting and evaluating specific evidence to help with the clinical diagnosis/practice issue, you should still be citing the literature and best practices to support your description of your communication and collaboration approach. Additionally, it is appropriate to cite best practices related to EBP and evaluating databases to support your explanation as to why you selected the five sources of online information that you did.

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Example Assessment: You may use the following to give you an idea of what a Proficient or higher rating on the scoring guide would look like:

• Assessment 1 Example [PDF]. Additional Requirements

Your assessment should meet the following requirements:

• Length of submission: 2-4 pages (not including the title page or the reference page) description of communication, collaboration, and evidence location process, including a list of databases or other sources with description of why they are appropriate for clinical scenario diagnosis/health care issue (that is, something that would be useable in professional practice for other nurses). Be sure to include an APA- formatted reference page at the end of your
• Number of references: Cite a minimum of three sources of scholarly or professional evidence that supports your findings and Resources should be no more than five years old.
• APA formatting: References and citations are formatted according to current APA

By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the course competencies through the following assessment scoring guide criteria:

• Competency 1: Interpret findings from scholarly quantitative, qualitative, and outcomes research articles and
  • Explain why the sources selected should provide the best evidence for the chosen diagnosis/health

care issue.

• Competency 2: Analyze the relevance and potential effectiveness of evidence when making a decision within the context of a specific health care

 

• Describe the best places to complete research within the workplace environment and what types of resources one would want to access to find pertinent information for the diagnosis/health care

• Competency 4: Plan care based on the best available
  • Identify five sources of online information (medical journal databases, websites, hospital policy databases, et cetera) that could be used to locate evidence for a diagnosis/health care issue and three out of five should be specific to the diagnosis/health care issue.
• Competency 5: Apply professional, scholarly communication strategies to lead practice changes based on
  • Describe communication strategies to encourage nurses to research a diagnosis/health care issue, as well as strategies to collaborate with the nurses to access resources.
  • Organize content so ideas flow logically with smooth transitions; contains few errors in grammar/punctuation, word choice, and spelling.
  • Apply APA formatting to in-text citations and references exhibiting nearly flawless adherence to APA

SCORING GUIDE

Use the scoring guide to understand how your assessment will be evaluated.