This essential represents the ethical translation of current evidence into practice from which professional nursing is grounded. My master's program has certainly fostered my questioning and inquiring attitude toward my practice and environment. This competency was met in clinical practice each day as I tapped into current resources like Up to Date for guidelines to practice as well as the knowledge of current treatments from my education in pharmacology and pathophysiology. SOAP notes are great evidence of this. Another assignment that documents competence in this essential is the research discussion board that I completed on ethical principles. In this discussion , I had to choose one ethical principle and discuss the applicability of the principle to participants of a research study. I chose informed consent.  

     The group research project I completed with three other student colleagues. We had to propose a research project and go through hypothetical steps as if we were going to complete it. This was an excellent learning experience because it taught me more about the research process in it's entirety. 

     Finally, the research study I participated in was a direct example of translational science that this essential from my master's education prepared me for. Donna Frazier's study involving Smartphone usage in the care of adolescents with Type 1 diabetes had me performing a literature review to identify studies that had been completed on this topic as well as identify knowledge gaps. It was another great learning experience about the world of research. I have included an annotated bibliography that I did as part of the literature review. 

     My weakness in this competency was my knowledge and understanding of research's contribution to evidence based practice. My strength in this competency area was my exposure to evidence based practice through my current and past RN positions in hospitals and clinic. My education has helped me to critically look at evidence derived from databases and apply practice guidelines to improve practice and care.