NURS 3318: Nurse as Therapeutic Communicator: Home

We define credible as capable of being believed; believable or plausible. Factors that could impact credibility of a resource include the author, and the publication. Ask yourself, "how credible the resource is for the assigned task?" 

We define suitable as appropriate for a particular person, situation, etc; fitting. Factors that could impact suitability include the format and currency of the resource, and the relevancy of the resource to the patients' needs. Ask yourself, "how suitable the resource is for the assigned task?"

Blome, M. J., Johnson, M. L., Jones, M. A., Moore, M. S., & Beck, M. F. (2021). Sleep quality and daytime sleepiness in prelicensure baccalaureate nursing students. The Journal of Nursing Education, 60(4), 196-202. https://doi.org/10.3928/01484834-20210322-03

The Anatomy of an Article

• Title: Tells you who and what the article is about.
• Abstract: A Short summary of the article.
• Introduction and Background: Situates the article by explaining the purpose of the article and the description.
• Methods: Explains the process of the study, including all of the steps taken, so the research can be repeated. 
• Results: What were the outcomes of the study, such as observations, calculations, and any figures or data.
• Discussion: Explains the results and what the findings mean.
• Conclusion: Typically a paragraph or two summing up the article.

Begin by reading:

1. Title
2. Abstract
3. Discussion
4. Conclusion

Diagram from the University of Richmond Libraries

Know the distinctions between clinical health information vs. consumer health information!

Clinical health information is:

• Information written for and produced by medical professionals
• Contains technical language and assumes a high level of training, familiarity, and comes from a practitioner's perspective.

Consumer health information is:

• Information designed to be educational, user-friendly, and understandable for people who are not medical professionals
• Can include resources about prevention, wellness, diseases and conditions, treatment, healthcare options, and more

Reference: Arnott-Smith, C..and Alla K., (2015).  Meeting health information needs outside of healthcare : Opportunities and challenges. Elsevier Science.

Lateral reading is using other websites and sources to verify claims and content on websites you are evaluating. It is a strategy used by professional fact-checkers. It's as simple as opening up a few more windows on your browser and searching other sites for claims, persons, things, and events to verify content as  your read the source page.

It's different than vertical reading, which is when you stay on a website and follow the links or analyze the content on your source page without verifying with outside sources. 

Practice Groupwork Directions

You will be divided up into several groups and be given a general scenario for the practice exercise.

Scenario: A patient has a health question based on a resource they found on the web or social media. Your group's task is to 

1. After examining the resource your patient gave you, offer the patient one more resource that you consider to be more appropriate or suitable than the original resource
2. Explain to the patient why the resource your group chose is more appropriate or suitable than the original resource
3. Choose a group spokesperson

You have 10-15 minutes to find an alternate source! The group spokesperson will report out the original source, the alternate source, and the rationale.