Explore the role of the nurse DQ
The competency has three columns and they fail differently. A knowledge gap, a skills gap and an attitude gap need three different remedies, and saying so is the reflection.
Editorial process
Last reviewed · August 23, 2026
Three columns that fail in three different ways
The competency is deliberately split into knowledge, skills and attitudes, and the reflection is worth writing only if you use that structure as an analytical tool rather than as three headings. The three fail differently and need different remedies. A knowledge gap means you do not know something, such as what distinguishes a systematic review from a narrative one, and it is closed by reading. A skills gap means you know the concept but cannot perform the action, such as constructing a database search that returns fewer than four hundred results, and it is closed only by doing it with feedback. An attitude gap is the uncomfortable one and it is where the honest reflections live: valuing evidence in principle while treating a senior colleague's practice as settling the question, or feeling that questioning an established routine is insubordinate. The attitude column carries the marks precisely because it cannot be answered from a textbook.
The instruction to summarise the chart without posting it is doing real work, because a reproduced chart is a list and a summary is an argument. So choose a small number of gaps and develop them rather than listing everything. Personal pronouns are explicitly permitted here, which is unusual in nursing coursework and signals that the marker wants a first-person account with specific incidents in it rather than a generic self-assessment. Name a moment: a time you followed a unit practice without knowing its basis, a search you abandoned, a question you did not ask on a ward round. Then close with a development plan that matches remedy to gap type, because a plan that answers every gap with take a course has not understood the three-column structure the competency is built on. Supervised repetition, targeted reading and a conversation with a preceptor are not the same intervention.
Likely learning objectives
- Use the knowledge, skills and attitudes structure as an analytical tool.
- Match a remedy to the type of gap identified.
- Write a first-person reflection anchored in specific incidents.
- Summarise a structured chart as an argument rather than a list.
Assignment instructions
Read the full question
Review every instruction before using the planning guidance that follows.
Explore the role of the nurse in using nursing research in an evidence-based practice Recognize the value of evidence-based practice as a systematic approach to improve quality of patient care Reflect on the value of evidence-based practice and its relation to professional competence and commitment Use technical professional writing skills to elicit discussion Knowledge: This assignment will help you explore Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN), specifically the competency related to evidence-based practice (EBP). You will read the KSAs (Knowledge, Skills, Attitudes) related to EBP, considering what you already know and where you recognize development and growth are needed. Note; I will provide the KSA Task: Read the KSA’s (Knowledge, Skills, Attitudes) related to EBP. Consider what you already know and where you recognize development and growth are needed. Complete the QSEN reflection chart to aid in writing your post. In 500-800 words, summarize the reflection chart (do not post reflection chart). Follow these APA instructions: No title page Cite all work to include QSEN and nursing research text Include reference page Personal pronouns are acceptable Follow rules of grammar and punctuation, and APA Respond to at least two peers with substantive (at least one paragraph) response Evaluation Criteria: This assignment will be evaluated on the criteria found in the QSEN assignment rubric. In LoBiondo-Wood, G., & In Haber, J. (2018). Nursing research : Methods and critical appraisal for evidence -based practice. APA (9th ed.) In LoBiondo-Wood, G., & In Haber, J. (2018). Nursing research : Methods and critical appraisal for evidence -based practice
Course-wide instructions that accompany this question
You must proofread your paper. But do not strictly rely on your computer’s spell-checker and grammar-checker; failure to do so indicates a lack of effort on your part and you can expect your grade to suffer accordingly. Papers with numerous misspelled words and grammatical mistakes will be penalized. Read over your paper – in silence and then aloud – before handing it in and make corrections as necessary. Often it is advantageous to have a friend proofread your paper for obvious errors. Handwritten corrections are preferable to uncorrected mistakes. Use a standard 10 to 12 point (10 to 12 characters per inch) typeface. Smaller or compressed type and papers with small margins or single-spacing are hard to read. It is better to let your essay run over the recommended number of pages than to try to compress it into fewer pages. Likewise, large type, large margins, large indentations, triple-spacing, increased leading (space between lines), increased kerning (space between letters), and any other such attempts at “padding” to increase the length of a paper are unacceptable, wasteful of trees, and will not fool your professor. The paper must be neatly formatted, double-spaced with a one-inch margin on the top, bottom, and sides of each page. When submitting hard copy, be sure to use white paper and print out using dark ink. If it is hard to read your essay, it will also be hard to follow your argument.
What the QSEN reflection requires
- 01A summary of the QSEN reflection chart in 500-800 words.
- 02The reflection chart itself not posted.
- 03Citations for all work including QSEN and the nursing research text.
- 04A reference page, with personal pronouns acceptable.
- 05Responses to at least two peers.
Knowledge, skills, attitudes, then a plan
The competency, in three parts
Introduce the knowledge, skills and attitudes structure and why it matters.
What the assessor is likely looking for
Structure treated as analytical rather than organisational.
What you know
Identify current knowledge and one specific knowledge gap.
What the assessor is likely looking for
A gap specific enough to be closed by named reading.
What you can do
Assess your ability to perform EBP actions, with an example.
What the assessor is likely looking for
A performance gap distinguished from a knowledge gap.
What you value in practice
Examine the gap between stated and enacted attitudes toward evidence.
What the assessor is likely looking for
An honest attitude gap rather than an affirmation.
An incident that showed it
Anchor the reflection in one specific practice moment.
What the assessor is likely looking for
A concrete event, which the pronoun permission invites.
A development plan by gap type
Match reading, supervised practice and cultural change to the three gap types.
What the assessor is likely looking for
Three different remedies rather than one.
Where the competency statements live
Recommended databases
- QSEN Institute
- NCBI Bookshelf
- PubMed Central
- CINAHL
Search sequence
- 1.Read the EBP competency statements in full before completing the chart.
- 2.Look up an EBP process source to identify what a skills gap would consist of.
- 3.Search barriers to EBP for the attitude column.
- 4.Find an evaluation of QSEN education for the development plan.
Reference shortlist
These are authoritative starting points, not a ready-made bibliography. A qualified reviewer must confirm that each source fits the assignment and supports the claim beside which it is cited.
QSEN Competencies
QSEN Institute · 2024
The competency statements themselves, which the reflection is built on.
QSEN: Knowledge, Skills, and Attitudes Associated With Evidence-Based Practice (Table 9.4)
Nursing Management and Professional Concepts, Chippewa Valley Technical College (NCBI Bookshelf) · 2022
The EBP knowledge, skills and attitudes table, for the three-column structure.
Nursing managers' perspectives on facilitators of and barriers to evidence-based practice: A cross-sectional study
Nursing Open (Wiley), via PubMed Central · 2023
Barriers and facilitators to EBP, for the attitude gap analysis.
Nursing Professional Development Evidence-Based Practice
StatPearls, NCBI Bookshelf · 2023
Evidence-based practice in nursing, for identifying knowledge gaps precisely.
The impact of The Quality and Safety Education (QSEN) program on the knowledge, skills, and attitudes of junior nurses
PLOS ONE, via PubMed Central · 2025
An evaluation of QSEN education, for the development plan section.
Before you post the reflection
Common mistakes
- Reproducing the chart rather than summarising it.
- Treating knowledge, skills and attitudes as three headings rather than three kinds of gap.
- Avoiding the attitude column because it is uncomfortable.
- Writing a generic self-assessment with no specific incident in it.
- Answering every identified gap with the same development action.
Submission checklist
- Is the chart summarised rather than reproduced?
- Have you identified at least one gap in each of the three domains?
- Does each gap have a remedy matched to its type?
- Is there a specific incident anchoring the reflection?
- Are QSEN and the text both cited?
Use this guide to plan and review your own work. Follow your institution's rules and read Brinevia's academic-integrity policy.
Written by
Maren Caldwell
MSN, RN, CNE
Medical-surgical nursing, pharmacology and NCLEX preparation
Maren is a registered nurse with over 15 years of clinical and educational experience in medical-surgical nursing. She writes on NCLEX preparation, patient care fundamentals, pharmacology and evidence-based practice.
Reviewed by
Dr. Tessa Redmond
DNP, RN, CNE
Evidence-based practice and clinical education
Tessa is a doctorally-prepared nurse educator. She reviews Brinevia content for clinical accuracy and alignment with current evidence-based guidelines.