Searching for an answer: Faculty strategies to ensure advanced practice nursing student ability to select quality reference sources to guide clinical decision making

Abstract

Objective: Nursing faculty in advanced practice programs are challenged in providing guidance to their students on the appropriate use of a vast array of resources to inform practice decisions. The purposes of this exploratory pilot study were to 1) identify reference sources faculty consider essential for use in clinical practice, 2) describe faculty strategies for assisting students in the selection of quality reference sources for answering clinical questions, and 3) evaluate if strategies or resources utilized vary according to type of course taught, years of teaching experience, years in clinical practice, and type of advanced nursing preparation of the faculty member.

Methods: Graduate faculty (N = 33) from a distance education university completed an investigator created survey in a cross-sectional descriptive pilot study.

Results: Findings indicate that faculty acknowledge their students require guidance in the selection of quality references, however, there is lack of consensus for those reference sources that are considered of high quality.

Conclusions: Consensus building among faculty as to what constitutes quality reference sources which will guide practice decisions is essential before a consistent message regarding quality evidence-based sources can be provided to students throughout the curriculum.