Final Reflections

Step 0: Cultivate a spirit of inquiry – choosing a topic
Val and I were both at a loss, initially, of what we should choose for the topic. We did a brief internet search about what big problems the field of nursing faced. We are both passionate about the field, so we wanted to choose a topic that had a large impact on nurses and that we both wanted to learn more about. We were both intrigued to find out that there were organizations that required employees to work mandatory overtime and we were to curious to know what implications nurses would face as a result of this. Alas, we found a very intriguing topic and were both very eager to learn more about it.

Step 1: Ask the burning clinical question in PICOT format
We had a lot of different ideas running through our head, but it was difficult for us to break down what we were thinking initially because we had so much stuff we wanted to learn about and research. We then realized we needed to step back from it all and look the topic with fresh eyes. We then laid out the PICOT question format and took it one step at a time in order to keep things simple. Initially, our outcome tab was too broad and we were at a loss on how to narrow in on something. With some guidance from the professor, we were better able to understand what we needed for an outcome and focused in on something we both felt was relevant and important.

Step 2: Search for and collect the most relevant evidence – finding articles
We both initially thought this would prove to be difficult, but after having the librarians come and speak to us on how to properly use search engines, this step quite easy for us. To our surprise, our search parameters yielded us a lot of articles to choose from. We then took our time to scan over articles before we picked them to ensure that we picked ones we thought were most interesting and had the most relevant information to our topic.

Step 3: Critically appraise the evidence – Part I (rapid critical appraisal)
This process really helped me understand the information in the article much more than I initially believed it would. I was very greatly for these rapid critical appraisal worksheets, they were easy to understand and follow. In addition to helping me understand the article better, these sheets helped me to keep all the relevant information in each article organized well so that it could be used quite easily for the evidence table. Everything was already broken down into categories and it was effortless to pull out what I needed for the evidence table and what I would mention in the annotated bibliography.

Step 3: Critically appraise the evidence – Part II (evidence table & annotated bibliography)
The evidence table was very nice to have because it laid out all of our articles and the information contained in each on one easy to read table. There was no going back and forth between multiple articles, all the evidence we needed was in that one table. The annotated bibliography was a nice reminder after many weeks of having these articles as to why we chose that article in the first place. It was also good to write why we felt it was useful in our paper because I feel that it helped to prelude where we might use that articles information in our paper and how we’ll use it.

Step 3: Critically appraise the evidence – Part III (synthesis – writing the paper)
This step was not nearly as daunting as I once believed it to be. By breaking down all of the components of the paper, when it came to time to actually write it, it was simple in the fact where I was just looking at already analyzed information and putting it into my paper. We broke down the paper into fair shares for us each to write. If either one of us needed help on a specific part, we just called each other and talked through it all until we were both happy with what we came up with. It was all about problem-solving with both of us involved and just talk through the issue until a resolution came about.

Final Reflection
Through this entire process of the influence paper, I feel as though I learned how to better evaluate evidence within a text. I learned how to determine what evidence yielded good results and which had merit for use in the clinical setting. In contrast, I also learned how to determine what makes for bad research and what could be misconstrued for good research methods. This will better serve me in my nursing career because I will be able to understand what is truly meant by the words “evidence-based practice” and how to properly implement it in my workplace. Through this, I will be able to aid others in determining which nursing practices are best for our workplace through properly evaluating the quality improvement research done within our organization and determining what needs to be changed. Once it is determined what we need to look into, I now have the skills to properly execute a PICOT question and find relevant research to bring the organization up to the best-practice models.