The art of clinical inquiry begins in the patient care arena with 2 questions: Why do we practice this way? Could we do it better? Learning to question is a critical thinking skill that can be applied to each aspect of patient care, from asking why we do a certain practice or procedure, to how, when (the timing of care), and even where (the setting in which care is provided). Often a new clinical question must be reshaped to be answered—transformed into a format that is specific and able to be objectively and subjectively measured.

A common approach used to define a clinical question and make it measurable is to identify the Patient Population, Intervention, Comparator, Outcome, and Time Frame for Evaluation (PICOT). This approach clarifies the clinical question and establishes a point of departure for a study to answer the question. However, the next step in designing the study...

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