Appreciative inquiry enhances cardiology nurses’ clinical decision making when using a clinical guideline on delirium

The current study responds to implementation challenges with translating evidence-based knowledge into practice. We explore how appreciative inquiry can be used in in-house learning sessions for nurses to enhance their knowledge in using a guideline on delirium as part of clinical decision making. Through 18 sessions with 3–12 nurses, an appreciative inquiry approach was used. Specialist nurses from the Heart Centre of Copenhagen and senior lecturers from the Department of Nursing at Metropolitan University College facilitated the sessions. Field notes from the sessions were analysed using open and axial coding drawing on the principles of grounded theory. The study shows that appreciative inquiry was meaningful to cardiology nurses in providing them with knowledge of using a guideline on delirium in clinical decision making, the main reasons being a) data on a current patient were included, b) shared learning took place and c) a session about a patient was led by the patient’s nurse.