University of Maryland School of Nursing

NRSG 790: Methods for Research and Evidence Based Practice

PICOT Worksheet

Directions
Use the following writing prompts to develope your thoughts and ideas regarding a clinical practice
issue/problem, effect, and possible solutions.
This worksheet serves as a tool to organize your post for Discussion Board #2
A. What is the practice issue/problem? What is the scope, effect of the issue?
 Narrow your focus to measurable effects. For instance, avoid stating Diabetes as the problem.
Instead consider the effect of diabetes on the patient, family, community, organization.
 Review Module 5 for sources to identify important, national, clinical practice problems

B. How was the practice issue identified? How do you know the problem exists?
___ Safety/risk management concerns
___ Unsatisfactory patient outcomes
___ Wide variations in practice
___ Significant financial concerns
___ Clinical practice issue has no scientific base
___ Other

C. What references or sources were used to learn about the problem and possible solutions?
___ Credible web-sources (ie, CDC)
___ Print
___ Research publications
___ Content experts
___ Professional organizations
___ Other
 Cite your sources/references in the Background portion of your post

D. Define each element of the PICOT question as illustrated below.

Submit this section of the worksheet in the Discussion Board Folder under Assignments:
P- (Patient, population – include the setting):
I- (Intervention – this is the proposed EBP):
C- (Comparison – this is the current practice):
O- (Desired outcome – this is the effect of the intervention, as evidenced by):
T- (Time Frame – this is the duration of the intervention, or the amount of time needed for the
intervention to have an effect. This does not apply to all PICOT questions):

State the PICOT question for Discussion Board #2 as follows:

Among___________________does _____________________compared
to_________________effect__________________as evidenced
by_____________________

E. Quick Search
It is advisable to conduct a quick database search using the population, intervention and outcome as
search terms to gauge the amount and level of research on your topic. This will be the focus of
Discussion Board #3