Abstract
The rapid advancement of technology presents both opportunities and challenges in nursing. To promote nursing excellence, nurses respect the importance of using scholarly websites and publications. With technological advancements and multimedia resources offering convenience, they also pose risks regarding the accuracy and reliability of information accessed through non-scholarly sources. The purpose of this presentation examines information literacy in the clinical setting and how the clinical nurse should respond to the challenges of the overabundance of information.
In today’s readily accessible high-tech world, the nurse may be drawn to the convenience and habitual use of accessible learning materials using a non-scholarly database. However, is that material accurate and current? The nurse needs to distinguish fact from good sounding fiction. To effectively discover, evaluate, and apply research is a core foundation to information literacy. To foster the growth and clinical decision making of nurses, it is crucial to maintain high standards of evidence-based practice amidst the fast-paced internet environment. By equipping the nurse with the necessary skills to evaluate and validate information, we can ensure the delivery of high-quality care and uphold the integrity of nursing practice. Nurses represent a trusted source of information, and we have the responsibility to respect our profession by being accurate, evidence-based, and current in our clinical practice and education. We must respond to the needs of our patients and reflect on our practices to continually improve the care we provide. We as nurse leaders, must teach, as well as exemplify, how to search for and scrutinize information so that all represent information literacy. We should consider that our patients may have a spectrum of information literacy and therefore, we must guide them to validated sources. We must respond to the needs of our patients and reflect on our practices to continually improve the care we provide.
Notes
References:
Arcury, T. A., Sandberg, J. C., Melius, K. P., Quandt, S. A., Leng, X., Latulipe, C., Miller, D. P., Smith, D. A., & Bertoni, A. G. (2020). Older Adult Internet Use and eHealth Literacy. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 39(2), 141–150. https://doi.org/10.1177/0733464818807468
Bernstein, M., Roney, L., Kazer, M., & Boquet, E. H. (2020). Librarians collaborate successfully with nursing faculty and a writing centre to support nursing students doing professional doctorates. Health Information and Libraries Journal, 37(3), 240–244. https://doi.org/10.1111/hir.12327
Cantwell, L. P., McGowan, B. S., Planchon Wolf, J., Slebodnik, M., Conklin, J. L., McCarthy, S., & Raszewski, R. (2021). Building a Bridge: A Review of Information Literacy in Nursing Education. The Journal of Nursing Education, 60(8), 431–436. https://doi.org/10.3928/01484834-20210722-03
Farokhzadian, J., Jouparinejad, S., Fatehi, F., & Falahati-Marvast, F. (2021). Improving nurses' readiness for evidence-based practice in critical care units: results of an information literacy training program. BMC nursing, 20(1), 79. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-021-00599-y
Fetter, K. A., Wilford, B., Brodie, J., & Mulkey, D. (2023). Integrating information literacy into nursing education. Nursing (Jenkintown, Pa.), 53(9), 17–19. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.NURSE.0000978244.48194.f6
Suzanne Le Menestrel, David R. Williams, Mary K. Wakefield, & Jennifer Lalitha Flaubert. (2021). The Future of Nursing 2020-2030: Charting a Path to Achieve Health Equity. National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/25982
Sigma Membership
Phi Epsilon
Type
Presentation
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Other
Research Approach
Other
Keywords:
Acute Care, Interprofessional, Interdisciplinary, Clinical Practice, Technology in Practice, Information Literacy
Recommended Citation
Hess, Marianne E. and Smith, Robyn, "Information Literacy: Ensuring Evidence-Based Practice in the Era of Connectivity" (2025). Biennial Convention (CONV). 207.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/convention/2025/presentations_2025/207
Conference Name
48th Biennial Convention
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
Conference Year
2025
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record. All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository. All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.
Review Type
Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Date of Issue
2025-12-08
Information Literacy: Ensuring Evidence-Based Practice in the Era of Connectivity
Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
The rapid advancement of technology presents both opportunities and challenges in nursing. To promote nursing excellence, nurses respect the importance of using scholarly websites and publications. With technological advancements and multimedia resources offering convenience, they also pose risks regarding the accuracy and reliability of information accessed through non-scholarly sources. The purpose of this presentation examines information literacy in the clinical setting and how the clinical nurse should respond to the challenges of the overabundance of information.
In today’s readily accessible high-tech world, the nurse may be drawn to the convenience and habitual use of accessible learning materials using a non-scholarly database. However, is that material accurate and current? The nurse needs to distinguish fact from good sounding fiction. To effectively discover, evaluate, and apply research is a core foundation to information literacy. To foster the growth and clinical decision making of nurses, it is crucial to maintain high standards of evidence-based practice amidst the fast-paced internet environment. By equipping the nurse with the necessary skills to evaluate and validate information, we can ensure the delivery of high-quality care and uphold the integrity of nursing practice. Nurses represent a trusted source of information, and we have the responsibility to respect our profession by being accurate, evidence-based, and current in our clinical practice and education. We must respond to the needs of our patients and reflect on our practices to continually improve the care we provide. We as nurse leaders, must teach, as well as exemplify, how to search for and scrutinize information so that all represent information literacy. We should consider that our patients may have a spectrum of information literacy and therefore, we must guide them to validated sources. We must respond to the needs of our patients and reflect on our practices to continually improve the care we provide.
Description
Information literacy is an essential skill in the clinical setting. The nurse must be able to distinguish reliable sources in their practice.