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Ms. Moore is Clinical Nurse Specialist, Short Stay/Observation Unit, Sharp Memorial Hospital, and Dr. Stichler is Professor Emerita, School of Nursing, San Diego State University, and Academic Partner & Consultant-Research & Professional Development, Sharp Memorial Hospital, San Diego, California.
The authors have disclosed no potential conflicts of interest, financial or otherwise.
Experienced clinical nurses have a wealth of knowledge and experience in applying the nursing process, navigating busy workflows, and working as a team member to maximize the efficiency and timely care of patients. Analysis of laboratory values, administering medications, interpreting diagnostic tests, and communicating with physicians and nurse colleagues are all part of nurses' daily activities. Typically, when nurses have a question about a clinical practice or when they observe a practice they believe is not the standard of care (gaps in practice), they generally will ask a colleague's opinion first before searching the literature for information on the topic ( James et al., 2013 ). Although asking a colleague is an important step, the colleague's opinion is considered one of the lowest levels of evidence ( Melnyk, Fineout-Overholt, Stillwell, & Williamson, 2010 ).
The American Nurses' Association's Scope and Standards of Practice , Standard 9 ( 2010 ), indicates that all nurses must be involved in research as part of their professional role. Fasoli ( 2010 ) indicated that nurses who engage in research or use evidence in practice are more satisfied in their professional roles. Including clinical nurses in quality improvement (QI) projects, evidence-based practice (EBP) projects, or research is often difficult if the nurses do not have basic computer skills, knowledge about how to search the literature, or an understanding of how to manage a change project to improve clinical practice or patient outcomes. Most clinical nurses graduating within the past 10 years have been introduced to EBP in their academic preparation, whereas most nurses with more than 10 years' experience may not have been exposed to such content during their nursing education ( Kliger, Lacey, Olney, Cox, & O'Neil, 2010 ; Murray, Douglas, Girdley, & Jarzemsky, 2010 ). Therefore, nurses with more years of experience may not have developed the computer skills needed to search the literature for sources of EBP ( Upton & Upton, 2006 ).
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