Step 0: Cultivate a spirit of inquiry – choosing a topic– This topic came to our group pretty easily as we all feel strongly about the importance of vaccinations. We decided to focus on specifically the flu vaccine because we felt this vaccine had the most controversy behind whether or not it was completely necessary. We did not come across any conflicts while choosing this topic, as we were all on the same page as to what we wanted to research and get further information on.
Step 1: Ask the burning clinical question in PICOT format– Our group had to go through a couple different PICOT questions before we settled with our final one. We struggled a little in the beginning trying to make sure our question wasn’t too broad, and that we were going to find good and reliable sources that were able to help answer our question. After changing around the wording a few times, and narrowing it down, we were able to all agree on the PICOT question that ended up in our paper.
Step 2: Search for and collect the most relevant evidence – finding articles– For this part of the project, we all separately went on a search for relevant articles and reliable sources that we could use as evidence to help support our paper. Thankfully since we were researching a common controversial topic, we were able to choose from a good amount of source options. We made sure to include all of the criteria we needed into our searches including the patient population, and specific issues we were researching. After we submitted our sources and was able to get back some feedback, we narrowed it down to three really good sources that provided us with the exact information we needed in order to write this paper. I think that my team did a good job of ensuring that each article we found was a reliable source, and taking our time to choose the very best ones we can to be put into our paper.
Step 3: Critically appraise the evidence – Part I (rapid critical appraisal)– This part of the process I believe to be where my group struggled the most. We just were not very familiar with how to properly critically appraise an article, but I am glad this is now a skill that we all have. We split the work by each appraising one article out of the 3 that we found, and then looked over each others work and each others articles again to make sure this is a source we should be using.
Step 3: Critically appraise the evidence – Part II (evidence table & annotated bibliography)– This part of the paper took us a couple rounds of revisions to get it right, but I think that we worked well together as a group to take in the corrections that needed to be made to have it correct and ready for the final draft. The APA formatting and making sure the table was in the right set up was what made this part kind of difficult for us. We struggled with writing too much information in the evidence table, and then writing the same information all over again in the annotated bibliography. After we got feedback on how to make it better, it made more sense to us what information should be in the table, and what belonged in the bibliography.
Step 3: Critically appraise the evidence – Part III (synthesis – writing the paper)– To write this paper, we all worked on one shared document and we were able to see what each other had written, and also leave comments throughout the paper on what we thought needed to be fixed and what could be done better. I think this writing process worked really well for this team because we all were able to give our own input, rather than one person taking charge the entire time. We worked really well together, which I think is evident from our final draft. I was. really proud of our final product and all of the work that we put in to make sure it was the best work possible. We did not come across any conflict while writing this paper, and I felt like we all put an equal amount of time and effort into this project.
Final Reflection: From this process I learned how to find reliable and relevant articles and evidence in order to successfully back up an argument, or to further educate myself on a topic that I may not know a lot about. I feel like this will be very useful in my future career because as a nurse, you really never stop learning. You are always going to be learning something new, and will have to know how to use these skills in order to keep your knowledge fresh and up to date. We talked a lot in class about how nurses can make a big difference by bringing to the table new research or studies that have been done to help better the overall health care experience for both the patient and the worker. Whether this be research on new ways to prevent infection, or a different, safer way of doing a skill, new research can be extremely beneficial to everyone involved. I now feel confident in my skills of being able to formulate a clear and concise PICOT question, gather a couple relevant sources that I can use to help answer this question. I learned a lot of new skills throughout this process including how to critically appraise an article, and improving my skills in APA format and I think that these will both be very useful to me in the future.
