Question

How does a nurse know what (if any) knowledge in a research study is usable for clinical practice? What would a critical thinker look for in the evidence before deciding to change? What influence do credibility and clinical significance have on your decisions to integrate research-based evidence into your practice?

Answer 1

Ans) Nurses face a real challenge when translating best evidence into clinical practice.

- For example, the relevant research-based databases are not comprehensive in many areas. Also, there is an ongoing explosion in the amount and type of information available. Time constraints are inherent in clinical practice, and they are exacerbated by increasing demands for nursing care.

- A need also exists for accurate and systematic ways to make inferences from the research as applied to particular patient populations.

- Critical thinker would look for the integrity of the data that was used in the research.

-;When dealing with statistics, there are important factors to consider such as sample size, whether or not the scientific method was applied correctly, and how the data is presented to you.

- For instance, graphs and other visual data can be misleading and can easily be swayed to look like it supports a claim when in reality, the data is not statistically significant.

- So it would assess the credibility and significance of the individual or organization that is presenting the research because there may be ulterior motives at play.

- A good example would be research from an organization that advocates against the use of vaccines.

- A critical thinker would be less inclined to trust their research because of the beliefs of the organization. If that same information was tested and presented by the World Health Organization (WHO), then a critical thinker would be more inclined to use that data in their practice.