professional and personal growth through a spirit of inquiry

Purpose

Evidence-based practice is initiated by nurses and other healthcare professionals who identify questions about specific health-related interventions and the outcomes of those interventions on individuals and populations. The creation of a PICOT question helps guide evidence-based initiatives. The purpose of this worksheet is to provide an opportunity to explore the development of a PICOT question as a foundation for evidence-based practice.   CO1: Integrate evidence-based practice and research to support advancement of holistic nursing care in diverse healthcare settings. (PO 1, 4)

CO2: Integrate knowledge related to evidence-based practice and person-centered care to improve healthcare outcomes.  (PO 1, 2)

CO3: Demonstrate professional and personal growth through a spirit of inquiry, scholarship, and service in diverse healthcare settings. (PO 3, 4)

CO4: Develop knowledge related to research and evidence-based practice as a basis for designing and critiquing research studies.  (PO 1, 2, 5)

Requirements:

  1. Review the elements included in PICOT questions to guide evidence-based nursing practice.
  2. Respond to the questions below using the PICOT Question Worksheet Template 
  3. Using a minimum of 3 scholarly nursing sources, current within 5 years:
    • Identify and describe one practice-related issue or concern.  You may choose to build on the practice issue you identified in NR500NP/NR501NP.
    • Explain why the issue/concern is important to nurse practitioner practice and its impact on health outcomes.
    • Describe each element of your PICOT question in one or two sentences, being sure to address all of the following:
      • P-Population and problem– What is the nursing practice concern or problem and whom does it affect?
      • I–Intervention– What evidence-based solution for the problem would you like to apply?
      • C–Comparison– What is another solution for the problem? Note that this is typically the current practice, no intervention at all, or alternative solutions.
      • O–Outcome– Very specifically, how will you know that the intervention worked? Think about how you will measure the outcome.
      • T–Time frame– What is the Timeframe involved for the EBP initiative or the target date of completion?
    • Construct your PICOT question in the standard PICOT question format (narrative) and define each letter separately, such as:
      • P =
      • I =
      • C =
      • O =
      • T =
      • PICOT question written in full =
  4. At the graduate level, we like to see you synthesizing your ideas into your own words. No direct quotes may be used in this worksheet.
  5. Use APA formatting guidelines for references and citations.