The increased autonomy and responsibility associated with the nurse practitioner (NP) role compounded with the plethora of electronic health information requires advanced practice registered nursing (APRN) students to possess information literacy (IL) skills associated with identifying, locating, and evaluating the quality of health-related literature (Majid, Chaudhry, & Xue, 2008). Without the proper IL skills needed to select high-quality clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) for decision making when developing treatment plans, NP students will be ill-equipped to perform evidence-based practice (EBP) during their clinical practicum experiences. The incorporation of IL skills training in NP educational programs is paramount for the actualization of EBP in clinical nursing (Majid et al., 2008). However, few studies have discussed IL skills and EBP as they relate to NP students' abilities to critically appraise CPGs and make EBP clinical decisions. This article discusses the development of a 4-hr IL workshop to enhance NP students' abilities to effectively search and critically appraise evidence-based research to make well-informed clinical decisions as advanced practice nurses.
Keywords: clinical practice guidelines; critical appraisal; evidence-based practice; information literacy.