Research application: teaching staff nurses to use library search strategies

Journal reading is a major mechanism for disseminating research but much goes unread by practicing nurses. A survey revealed the 10 most frequently read journals are primarily of a clinical/technical nature. To encourage reading of research, we organized a series of library sessions to familiarize nurses with the library and modern search strategies. Over half of the 77 nurse participants indicated they had not visited the library in six months and were less than confident in their library skills. Hands-on experiences, including computerized literature search, gave nurses an opportunity to learn techniques for locating research articles.