An Offer That Cannot Be Refused: The Evidence for Information Literacy Competency in Nursing Education and Practice

Paper

Friday, 21 July 2006

This presentation is part of : Advancing Information Literacy Knowledge and Skills Through Collaboration: An Interdisciplinary Approach

Susan T. Pierce, RN, EdD, College of Nursing, Northwestern State University of Louisiana, Shreveport, LA, USA and Annelle Tanner, RN, EdD, Maternal and Child Health, Louisiana Department of Health & Hospitals, Office of Public Health, Alexandria, LA, USA.

Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) is “the conscientious, explicit, and judicious use of the most up-to-date, best evidence in making clinical decisions about the care of individual patients which requires consistent application as the patient’s circumstances and preferences warrant” (Evidence-Based Medicine Working Group, 1992, p.2420). The Institute of Medicine (2002), in response to its’ 2001 report identifying the extent of medical errors in healthcare delivery, called for the application of EBP by healthcare providers to reduce error, improve care quality, and enhance patient safety. A conundrum exists between the assumption of information literacy (IL) competency and the expectation for conducting EBP. The ability of nurses to meet this practice standard is jeopardized by the gap in their knowledge and skills for locating the best evidence. The purpose of this presentation is two-fold: (1) to describe the state of IL competency of nurses and nursing students based on a national descriptive study (Pravikoff, Pierce & Tanner, 2005) that validates findings of several regional studies ( Pierce, 2000; Tanner, 2000) and (2) to increase awareness of the nursing profession’s need to be aggressively proactive in improving IL competency and establishing EBP.

At the conclusion of this presentation, participants can:

Recognize the relationship between IL and EBP
Question the state of IL within their own organizations
Identify a tool for assessing IL and readiness for EBP in their own environments
Discuss the value of including evidence-based resources in information systems.

A challenge will be issued to attendees to assess their respective workplaces and address IL competency development and EBP among healthcare providers. This approach is critical for educational programs to ensure that students internalize IL and EBP as “what nurses and other healthcare professionals do.” A professional blitz is needed to raise the bar for IL competency.

See more of Advancing Information Literacy Knowledge and Skills Through Collaboration: An Interdisciplinary Approach
See more of The 17th International Nursing Research Congress Focusing on Evidence-Based Practice (19-22 July 2006)