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Welcome to the Nurse Synthesized Evidence webpage!
You are about to embark on the lifetime journey of Nurse Inquiry!
Let's get started!
The purpose of this website is to empower the beloved Nursing Team of SMHCS to have fun while searching through the literature for evidence-based practice resources.
Please know that when you have the right tools, Literature searching can be as fun as playing a word game or as fun as shopping on the internet for new scrubs or tennis shoes - the process is the same! When we shop, we usually search across the three big warehouse stores like Amazon, eBay or Esty for our valuables. Hypothetically,I might even visit the FIGS's company website to search for a better color of blue.
When we search for synthesized evidence, we need to use the same process - we search across the three big medical databases to find the right size, color, and style of literature that best fits our respective SMHCS Nursing Team. In addition, we should visit our Nurse Specialty Association's website for consensus guidelines or policy updates!
Quick Reference - Care Sheets
Click below to access Clinical Overviews
CINAHL Evidence-Based Care Sheets - CINAHL provides nearly 150 Evidence-Based Care Sheets, which are designed to give a "general informational overview of the subject for the healthcare professional" on a variety of topics. Most are two pages long, and include information on "What We Know" and "What We Can Do," supported by a list of References for further information.
CINAHL Quick Lessons - Each Quick Lesson includes information on the topic's description/etiology, facts and statistics, risk factors, symptoms and clinical presentation, assessment, treatment goals, and more, as well as a list of references that provide further information.
Clinical Key - Clinical Overviews - Clinical Overviews provide snap shot clinical information on the diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up for specific conditions.
Finding Synthesized Evidence for Nursing Practice
Evidence-based practice (EBP) is essential for nurses to deliver the best possible care. However, sifting through individual research studies can be time-consuming. Luckily, there are resources that synthesize existing research on specific topics. Here's how to find them:
1. Identify your PICO question:
- P - Patient/Population: Who are you interested in (e.g., diabetic patients, post-operative patients)?
- I - Intervention: What specific treatment or approach are you considering (e.g., pain management technique, educational intervention)?
- C - Comparison: Is there an alternative intervention you want to compare it to (e.g., standard pain medication vs. a new technique)? This might not be applicable in all cases.
- O - Outcome: What are you hoping to achieve (e.g., reduced pain scores, improved patient satisfaction)
2. Make sure to search databases specializing in healthcare research, such as:
- PubMed Central: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?otool=fluzesllib
- CINAHL Complete: https://www.ebsco.com/products/research-databases/cinahl-database
- Cochrane Library: https://www.cochranelibrary.com/
- SMH Medical Library (search across all three databases listed above at the same time): https://library.smh.com/
- Use your PICO question to build your search terms. ( Database tutorials are available on this webpage)
- Use filters to help you narrow results to "systematic reviews" or "meta-analyses". Filter or sort by date, click scholarly journal etc.
3. Utilize Evidence-Based Practice Websites for synthesized evidence: Here are a few examples::
- Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews: https://go.openathens.net/redirector/smh.com?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cochranelibrary.com%2F
- Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI): http://demo.ovid.com/custom/smh/
- UpToDate: https://www.uptodate.com/contents/search
4. Nursing Associations develop synthesized evidence and provide recommendations for specific clinical situations. Be sure to check your favorite association for updates.
Below are links to a few of the favorite Associations:
- American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) (https://www.aacn.org/
- American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) https://www.aanp.org/
- American Nurses Association (ANA): https://www.nursingworld.org/
- American Society for Pain Management Nursing (ASPMN): https://aspmn.org/
- Association of Operating Room Nurses (AORN): https://www.aorn.org/
- National Association of Neonatal Nurses (NANN): https://nann.org/
- Oncology Nursing Society (ONS): https://www.ons.org/.
- Wound, Ostomy and Continence Nurses Society (WOCN): https://www.wocn.org/
Additional Resources:
- Johns Hopkins Nursing Center for Nursing Inquiry: https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/nursing/center-nursing-inquiry/nursing-inquiry/evidence-based-practice
If you are spinning your wheels and spending too much time trying to locate the evidence, do not hesitate to call 231.499.7216 or email Medical Library Manager, Yvonne Boudreau or, please contact NPD Research Specialist, Jennifer Bonamer
Below are a few tutorials for how to shop for the literature!
CINAHL
CINAHL stands for the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature. CINAHL has a particular focus on nursing journals making this one of the most important nursing resources. Please review the topics below for instruction on how to use this database.
- Basic Searching with CINAHL (3:20)
- Advanced Searching with CINAHL (3:53)
- Using CINAHL/MESH Headings in CINAHL (3:32)
- How to Build a CINAHL Ultimate Search
Johanna Briggs Institute
JBI is a global organization promoting and supporting evidence-based decisions that improve health and health service delivery.
- JBI Joanna Briggs Institute – Brief overview on how to search for Systematic Reviews
- JBI Manual for Evidence Synthesis "guidance to authors for the conduct and preparation of JBI systematic reviews and evidence syntheses"
PubMed
PubMed is one of the best indexes to search when conducting a literature search. Please review the topics below for instruction on how to use this database.
