Step 0: Cultivate a spirit of inquiry – choosing a topic

Finding a topic was relatively easy for my group and there really weren’t any issues during this step of the process. We were able to pick a topic fairly quickly. 

Step 1: Ask the burning clinical question in PICOT format

As far as putting the question into PICOT format, there weren’t really any problems with this. The only thing we had to do was make minor adjustments after finding our question. 

Step 2: Search for and collect the most relevant evidence – finding articles

This step was one of the most difficult in the process for us because a lot of the articles solely focused on the relationship between silica exposure and lung diseases rather than the interventions that needed to be put into place to reduce the risk of exposures. However, we were able to find a combination of the both to answer our PICOT question. 

Step 3: Critically appraise the evidence – Part I (rapid critical appraisal)

Each member of our group appraised one article for the paper. During this step we ran into trouble about which rapid critical appraisal sheet to use, but we were able to work it out in the end and use the proper worksheet.

Step 3: Critically appraise the evidence – Part II (evidence table and annotated bibliography)

During this stage of the process we were each able to do our own part of the evidence table and annotated bibliography that related to our articles that we did on the rapid critical appraisals. In the beginning we struggled with finding strengths and weaknesses of the articles that we had found, but we had then been informed that it should already been in the articles we had found. After completing the table it was much easier to complete the annotated bibliography.

Step 3: Critically appraise the evidence – Part III ( synthesis – writing the paper)

In the beginning as a group we had decided what parts each member would complete of the paper. During this time it was challenging trying to pull as much information as we could from the articles and making the information flow into the common goal of our PICOT question. Through some revisions we were able to complete our paper quite smoothly. 

Final Reflection

Throughout this writing process I was able to learn a lot about research. I’ve learned that there is always more research to do and more sources to find from. I also learned that not everything you find will be valid as they can be outdated or unreliable. As I go further in my nursing career I will be able to use the knowledge gained from this experience to identify something that can be improved and do the research to change and improve practice. 

Final Paper