title: Knowledge management: organizing nursing care knowledge.
abstract: Almost everything we do in nursing is based on our knowledge. In 1984, Benner (From Novice to Expert: Excellence and Power in Clinical Nursing Practice. Menlo Park, CA: Addison-Wesley; 1984) described nursing knowledge as the culmination of practical experience and evidence from research, which over time becomes the "know-how" of clinical experience. This "know-how" knowledge asset is dynamic and initially develops in the novice critical care nurse, expands within competent and proficient nurses, and is actualized in the expert intensive care nurse. Collectively, practical "know-how" and investigational (evidence-based) knowledge culminate into the "knowledge of caring" that defines the profession of nursing. The purpose of this article is to examine the concept of knowledge management as a framework for identifying, organizing, analyzing, and translating nursing knowledge into daily practice. Knowledge management is described in a model case and implemented in a nursing research project.
authors.affiliation: Stroke Center, Houston, Texas 77030, USA. jane.anderson@med.va.gov
authors.forename: Jane A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Anderson
authors.forename: Pamela
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Willson
mesh_terms: D019985:Benchmarking; D003422:Critical Care; D020000:Decision Support Systems, Clinical; D004059:Diffusion of Innovation; D004645:Empathy; D055318:Evidence-Based Nursing / Q000193:education / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D033181:Information Dissemination; D019359:Knowledge; D016347:Medical Records Systems, Computerized; D016294:Models, Nursing; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D009731:Nursing Audit; D015399:Nursing Research / Q000193:education / Q000458:organization & administration*; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D017010:Reminder Systems; D040242:Risk Reduction Behavior; D012648:Self Care; D020521:Stroke / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control