Information literacy: developing lifelong skills through nursing education

The amount and complexity of information nurses are expected to manage continues to increase exponentially. Support has grown for integrated curriculum approaches that include appropriate content on the use of a variety of information formats and instruction using resource-based and process methods. Such teaching-learning approaches demand a major shift in educational paradigms and encompass resource-based learning, undergraduate research, service learning, inquiry learning, and problem-based learning. The implementation of an integrated curriculum promises advanced information skills, access, and use of available evidence to support clinical decision making and a foundation for lifetime learning. In this article, we argue that for information literacy to be enhanced, collaboration between teaching faculty and librarians must be fostered in meaningful ways. We report on the rationale of an integrated curriculum, changes to nursing education, and obstacles to the development and application of advanced information skills that exist within higher education and clinical settings.