Unit 8 Blog Entry

During rounds, Charles encounters a rare condition he personally has never seen and only vaguely remembers hearing about in nursing school. He takes a few moments to prepare himself by searching the internet. That evening, he researches further to learn how to treat, administer, and assess the patient safely. The sources he researches include online clinical databases and his own school textbooks. Most of the information seems consistent, yet some factors vary. Charles wants to provide the highest quality in patient safety. He wonders which resources are best.

What should Charles do when he encounters direct contradiction in information from two sources?

            When contradiction occurs between two or more sources one must closely evaluate the sources in question.  First he must consider what type of information each of the sources is presenting.  Information on the internet today can come from various sources such as facts, opinions, stories, interpretations, or statistics (Harris, 2015).  It is best in this case to keep to facts or statistics if possible.  Secondly it is important to consider the age of the information, in the health care arena recommendations, guidelines, and facts can change quickly (Harris, 2015).  Lastly one must consider the validity and credibility of  source and is this source free from financial bias on the topic of consideration (HOHcode, 2015). 

Which resources are the most trusted and how to determine this?

            If Charles’s textbooks are not outdated then they could be considered the most trusted sources that he has available.  While books have earned a trusted spot as legitimate sources of information, having been vetted by an entire network of industry specialists, the internet does not have the professional vetting, but it does have the wisdom of the crowds, relying that at least one reader would see an error and point it out in the comments (Johnson,2011).

Which resources are the most accurate and how do your determine this?

            We can assume that the scholarly textbooks have been vetted for accuracy and unless the information is outdated on the subject at hand we are safe trusting the information (Johnson, 2011).  If Charles is dealing with internet information or certain websites the sources can be checked using the Health on the Net Foundation’s website (Healthonthenet.org) which uses HONcode certification to rate the credibility and validity of different sites on the internet.  The health on the net website helps the searcher to maintain ethical standards of information and to use only quality health information in their research (HONcode, 2015). 

What criteria can Charles use to ID credible resources to enhance his clinical practice?

            If you’re visiting a health Web site for the first time, these five quick questions can help you decide whether the site is a helpful resource. (NIH, 2015).

Who? Who runs the Web site? Can you trust them? (NIH, 2015).

What? What does the site say? Do its claims seem too good to be true? (NIH, 2015).

When? When was the information posted or reviewed? Is it up-to-date? (NIH, 2015).

Where? Where did the information come from? Is it based on scientific research? (NIH, 2015).

Why? Why does the site exist? Is it selling something? (NIH, 2015).

If the resources pass the five questions set forth by the NIH, then they can be considered credible resources an may enhance his clinical practice. 

References

Harris, R. (2015).  Evaluating Internet Resources.   Retrieved from: 

http://www.virtualsalt.com/evalu8it.htm

HONcode. (2015).  Retrieved from Health on the net foundation:

            http://www.hon.ch/HONcode/Patients/Visitor/visitor.html

Johnson, H. (2011).  Books vs. Internet: Whose information is more accurate?  Retrieved from:

            http://publishingperspectives.com/2011/10/books-vs-internet-more-

accurate/#.VpLH3IakHug

National Institute of Health (NIH). (2015).   Finding and Evaluating Online Resources on

Complementary Health Approaches.  Retrieved from: 

https://nccih.nih.gov/health/webresources