Learning Materials

• Melnyk, B. M. & Fineout-Overholt, E. (2015). Evidence-based practice in nursing & healthcare: A guide to best practice (3rd ed.) Philadelphia, PA: Wolters Kluwer Health. ISBN: 978-1-4511-9094-6. Read Chapters 1, 2, and 3.
• Worksheet: Question Templates for Asking PICOT Questions 
• Application Case Study: Chapter 3: Finding Relevant Evidence to Answer Clinical Questions 

Assignment:

Identifying A Clinical Question

Write a 1000-1500 word essay addressing each of the following points/questions. Be sure to completely answer all the questions for each bullet point. There should be three main sections, one for each bullet below. Separate each section in your paper with a clear heading that allows your professor to know which bullet you are addressing in that section of your paper. Support your ideas with at least five (5) sources using citations in your essay. Make sure to cite using the APA writing style for the essay. The cover page and reference page in correct APA do not count towards the minimum word amount. Review the rubric criteria for this assignment.

Identify a clinical question related to your work environment, write the question in PICOT format and perform a literature search on the identified topic. (My work environment is HOSPICE)

Purpose 

To enable the student to identify a clinical question related to a specified area of practice and use medical and nursing databases to find research articles that will provide evidence to validate nursing interventions regarding a specific area of nursing practice.

Review the Application Case Study for Chapter 3: Finding Relevant Evidence to Answer Clinical Questions as a guide for your literature search. 

Guidelines 

1. Identify a clinical question related to your area of clinical practice and write the clinical foreground question in PICOT format utilizing the worksheet tool provided as a guide.
2. Describe why this is a clinical problem or an opportunity for improving health outcomes in your area of clinical practice. Perform a literature search and select five research articles on your topic utilizing the databases highlighted in Chapter 3 of the textbook (Melnyk and Finout-Overholt, 2015). 
3. Identify the article that best supports nursing interventions for your topic. Explain why this article best supports your topic as you compare the article to the other four found in the literature search.

Assignment Expectations:

Length: 1000 – 1500 words
Structure: Include a title page and reference page in APA format. These do not count towards the minimum word count for this assignment. Your essay must include an introduction and a conclusion.
References: Use appropriate APA style in-text citations and references for all resources utilized to answer the questions. A minimum of five (5) scholarly sources are required for this assignment to support the topic.