Big data and nursing knowledge.

NURSING KNOWLEDGE increases exponentially with the availability and use of big data and science. In an exciting move to empower nurses to utilize information, 70 stakeholders were involved in formulating a 2013 national action plan to capture nursing information for big data research aimed at identifying effective care interventions and improving patient outcomes. As we enter 2015, it is a good time to review the national agenda that came out of this work. Information, including the 2014 agenda, as well as the 2013 national action plan can be accessed at http://z.umn.edu/bigdata. The original group of stakeholders involved in this project included thought leaders from nursing practice, education, information technology, professional nursing, policy, informatics, and standards organizations. They were convened by a pioneer in informatics, Dean Connie Delaney, PhD, RN, FACMI, FAAN, who partnered with Professor Bonnie Westra, PhD,