Week 7: Components of Evidence-Based Practice: Asking a Critical Question
Think about the experience of meeting a new patient and getting to know the person’s health history or the specific problem to be addressed. How do you find out what you think you need to know? Most likely, you ask questions. And the better your questions, the more they can elicit the specific information for successful health maintenance or treatment.
Identifying a practice problem works in much the same way. Specifics are needed to define and refine. Asking a critical question—the why or how or what or when—can clarify the aspect or element that is the core issue. The critical question—and the type, quantity, and quality of evidence it generates—also provides support with answering stakeholder concerns, and particularly whether a practice change is justified.
This week you will begin exploring the components of evidence-based practice with a focus on finding the critical questions in practice problems.
Learning Objectives
Students will:
- Analyze practice problems for critical question development
- Summarize peer-reviewed research to support critical questions
- Justify critical questions for quality improvement initiatives
Learning Resources
Required Readings (click to expand/reduce)
Required Media (click to expand/reduce)
Optional Resources (click to expand/reduce)
Discussion: Framing a Practice Problem as a Critical Question With Measurable Outcomes
- 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.
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 2–3 scholarly articles that address your 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 …
By Day 3 of Week 7
Post a brief explanation of your critical question. Then, summarize the 2–3 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 the scholarly articles and other resources to support your post.
Read a selection of your colleagues’ posts.
By Day 6 of Week 7
Respond to at least two of your colleagues on 2 different days by suggesting a different way of framing their critical question. Cite sources to support your posts and recommend to colleagues.
Note: For this Discussion, you are required to complete your initial post before you will be able to view and respond to your colleagues’ postings. Begin by clicking on the “Post to Discussion Question” link and then select “Create Thread” to complete your initial post. Remember, once you click on Submit, you cannot delete or edit your own posts, and you cannot post anonymously. Please check your post carefully before clicking on Submit!
