Evidence-Based Practice Mentors: Taking Information Literacy to the Units in a Teaching Hospital

Abstract

This article describes Evidence-Based Mentors, an integrated strategy with librarian participation, aimed to motivate and assist nurses in the search and use of literature and evidence-based information for nursing practice in a teaching hospital. The librarian's role goes beyond searching the literature to involvement in teaching critical appraisal of information. It details the evidence-based process, including the use of the PICO model, the categorization of resources, and the synthesizing that lead to the change of nursing practices that impact on outcomes directly related to patient recovery, organizational effectiveness, and nursing competency.

Keywords:

• evidence-based practice
• information literacy
• librarians
• literature searching
• mentors
• nursing practice
• organizational effectiveness
• patient outcomes

The author acknowledges the support, vision, and guidance of Adriana Arguelles and Frank Leone.