Category Archives: How-To

Concept Analysis: Search Strategies and Common Frameworks

Last week I described the definition and purpose of a concept analysis. In this post, I’ll talk about the difference between concept analysis and concept development, give you some tips on how to do a concept analysis search, and identify several theoretical frameworks to guide your concept analysis journey. What

Critical Appraisal of Systematic Reviews

In evidence-based practice, an overview of one or more evidence sources is said to be synthesized or summarized. Synthesis evidence is a big help for busy clinicians because the hard work of critical appraisal of each of the included studies is done already! However, the clinician STILL has to critically appraise

Critical Appraisal of Clinical Practice Guidelines

Evidence-based clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) are summaries of best evidence, ideally from rigorous systematic reviews, which are then delineated as recommendations for practice. CPGs are a big help for busy clinicians – IF the CPG is based on evidence that is reliable and valid!  This post will provide a “How

Productivity Hack: Chunk Your Work to See Forward Progress!

One way to focus your work projects is to “chunk” your work. This post will give you 8 tips for breaking your next work or school project into chunks so that you can decrease the overwhelm, see your progress going forward, and have the satisfaction of crossing steps off your

The “Brain Budget”: Keep YOU and Your Most Valuable Asset Fit, Focused, and Fabulous!

Guest Author: Melissa H. Wolak I’m very excited to welcome my friend and colleague Melissa H. Wolak, MS, CCC-SLP as a guest author again this month!  Ms. Wolak is a Transformation Coach, Speaker, and Speech-Language Pathologist in Boulder, Colorado. To read her latest “brain changer” posts and find out more about

SMART Goal Setting for School, Work, and Life

This month the theme is productivity — strategies such as work hacks and new habit formation — to help you move confidently toward your goals for this new year (and beyond!). This post will talk about how to use the SMART framework to write goals that are specific, measurable, achievable,

Enjoy More and Stress Less this Holiday with One Powerful Strategy

Guest Author: Melissa H. Wolak I’m very excited to welcome my colleague Melissa H. Wolak, MS, CCC-SLP as a guest author this month!  Ms. Wolak is a Transformation Coach, Speaker, and Speech-Language Pathologist in Boulder, Colorado. To read her latest “brain changer” posts and find out more about Melissa, check out

A Positive Attitude: Get Ready for the Holiday Season

  Wow! It’s the end of the year already! And of course, that means we are entering the holiday season with all of the excitement that comes with it. The holiday season also means a lot of work — planning, organizing, shopping, cooking, traveling, socializing — it can be overwhelming,

Critical Appraisal Questions for Evidence-Based Practice: Can I Apply the Results to Practice?

All month I’ve been discussing the major questions you need to ask when critically appraising a research study. In this post, I’ll review the subquestions you need to ask when determining whether you can apply the results to your patient or patient population. Using Evidence to Make Clinical Decisions The

Critical Appraisal Questions for Evidence-Based Practice: Are the Results Important?

This month I’m talking about the questions to ask when critically appraising a research study for use in your evidence-based nursing practice. In this post, I’ll address the question of determining if the actual research findings/results are significant and meaningful – What are the Results? (AKA Are the Results Important?) The major

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