Responses to Other Students: Respond to at least 2 of your fellow classmates with at least a 250-word reply about their Primary Task Response regarding items you found to be compelling and enlightening. To help you with your discussion, please consider the following questions:
- What did you learn from your classmate’s posting?
- What additional questions do you have after reading the posting?
- What clarification do you need regarding the posting?
- What differences or similarities do you see between your posting and other classmates’ postings?
All sources should be cited using APA format. Grammar, spelling, punctuation, and format should be correct and professional.
READ AND RESPOND THE POST
Methods of Knowing in Nursing Practice
Knowledge acquisition in nursing is a complicated process that goes beyond textbooks and classroom lectures. As a nurse in the emergency department and interventional radiology, I’ve learned that knowing includes formal education, clinical experience, and critical examination of information sources. Understanding how we know what we know is critical to providing safe, evidence-based patient care.
Assessing Information Validity and Accuracy
Evaluating information accuracy necessitates a methodical approach rather than taking sources at face value. Patterson et al. (2025) discovered that nurses frequently evaluate information based on factors such as accuracy, relevance, authority, purpose, and currency. However, their research found a troubling finding: most nurses depend on surface-level evaluation criteria rather than doing in-depth critical examination. For example, nurses frequently accept material merely because it appears in a peer-reviewed journal, without critically scrutinizing the methodology or applicability to their patient population. Patterson et al. (2025) stressed that the inclusion of citations does not ensure authenticity because information might be distorted or taken out of context. In my emergency department practice, I verify material by cross-referencing several sources, reviewing the author’s credentials, and determining whether the research population is representative of my patient demographics, when time is appropriate.
Evidence-Seeking Hierarchy
The evidence hierarchy ranks systematic reviews and meta-analyses at the top, with randomized controlled trials, cohort studies, case-control studies, and expert opinion at the bottom. When making patient care decisions, I mostly rely on clinical practice guidelines and systematic reviews, which provide synthesis evidence that has been rigorously evaluated. Atalla et al. (2025) found that nurses with higher levels of knowledge and good attitudes toward evidence-based practice are more competent in applying research findings to clinical scenarios. Their findings revealed significant positive associations between EBP knowledge, abilities, and use, implying that comprehending the evidence hierarchy improves clinical decision-making.
In my personal life, I frequently make decisions based on firsthand experience and reliable sources. However, my nursing education has influenced how I approach personal health information, leading me to seek out respected medical websites rather than social media posts. This dual approach illustrates what Atalla et al. (2025) refer to as the combination of research evidence, clinical competence, and individual valuesthe three pillars of evidence-based practice.
Personal Experience and Knowledge Acquisition.
My nursing education career exemplifies the combination between formal and experiential learning. Working in interventional radiology, I learned procedural protocols through didactic training, but genuine competency came through repeated practice and coaching from more experienced colleagues. Patterson et al. (2025) observed that nurses commonly utilize their previous clinical knowledge to assess the credibility of new material, asking themselves whether the new evidence is consistent with their professional experience. This is consistent with my experience; when confronting unexpected clinical settings in the emergency department, I combine textbook knowledge with trends I’ve seen in comparable patient presentations.
Best Practices for Increasing Nursing Knowledge
Effective knowledge acquisition in nursing necessitates deliberate tactics. Atalla et al. (2025) discovered that self-efficacy is an important mediator between EBP facilitators and nursing competences, implying that nurses who trust in their abilities to collect and utilize evidence have better practice competency. Their findings indicated that facilitator elements, such as training opportunities and supportive leadership, have a strong favorable impact on EBP competency. As a result, excellent practices include attending continuing education classes, joining journal clubs, and developing mentorship relationships. Patterson et al. (2025) suggested that nurses shift away from basic evaluation checklists and toward more advanced critical appraisal procedures, such as lateral reading and methodical analysis. As I go into nursing education, understanding these best practices will help me teach future nurses to be discriminating consumers of healthcare information, ultimately improving patient outcomes through evidence-based treatment.
References
Atalla, A. D. G., El-Ashry, A. M., & Mohamed, S. M. S. (2025). The relationship between evidence-based practices facilitators and barriers among nurses and their competencies: self-efficacy as a mediator. BMC Nursing, 24(1), 114.
Patterson, B., Diekema, A. R., Hopkins, E. (Betsy) S., Wilson, D., & Schvaneveldt, N. (2025). Is this professionally correct?: understanding the criteria nurses use to evaluate information. Journal of the Medical Library Association, 113(4), 298309.
Requirements: 270

Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.