Research is a systemic investigation used to answer questions. For nursing, research uses the scientific process to study nursing questions for nursing practice. “Research promotes accountability, which is one of the hallmarks of the nursing profession and a fundamental concept of the American Nurses Association Code of Nurses,” (Haber, 2018, p.7). An example of this would be exploring how patients rate their pain on a numeric scale. This type of research helps with evaluating the experience patients feel post-operative.   Evidence-based practice (EBP) is the collection and evaluation of valid research, clinical expertise, and patient values to make a clinical decision. “The IOM has issued a challenge to change the way nursing is practiced by bridging the chasm between research knowledge and practice.” (Brower, 2017, p.18). EBP can ensure the best practice of care for patients, along with decreasing mortality rates. An example of EBP would be a nurse gathering research based on how health care clinics bring about lowering hospital-acquired infections, and using that evidence from the research to provide the best possible outcome. Quality improvement (QI) is using data from different outcomes of care and improvement processes to improve the quality of health care. Current nursing knowledge and methods are researched, alongside with outcomes of certain care processes to answer a question in order to make improvements in nursing care for patients. An example of QI would be a nurse conducting research for an outcome of care involving patient injuries. The nurse would use already existing studies on how health care facilities prevent patient injuries, compare this knowledge to the methods the health care facility they work at use with the outcomes presented, and then create a possible new method of care that can be an improvement.

Brower, J., E., & Nemec, R. (2017). Origins of evidence-based practice and what it means for nurses. International Journal of Childbirth Education, 32(2), 14-18.

Haber, J., & Lobiondo-Wood, G. (2018). Nursing research: Methods and critical appraisal for evidence-based practice (9th ed.). St. Louis: Elsevier.

1. dentify a clinical question related to your area of clinical practice and write the clinical foreground question in PICOT format utilizing the worksheet tool provided as a guide.
2. Describe why this is a clinical problem or an opportunity for improving health outcomes in your area of clinical practice. Perform a literature search and select five research articles on your topic utilizing the databases highlighted in Chapter 3 of the textbook (Melnyk and Finout-Overholt, 2015).
3. Identify the article that best supports nursing interventions for your topic. Explain why this article best supports your topic as you compare the article to the other four found in the literature search.

Assignment Expectations:

Length: 1000 – 1500 words
Structure: Include a title page and reference page in APA format. These do not count towards the minimum word count for this assignment. Your essay must include an introduction and a conclusion.
References: Use appropriate APA style in-text citations and references for all resources utilized to answer the questions. A minimum of five (5) scholarly sources are required for this assignment to support the topic.