PICOT is an acronym that stands for patient, intervention, comparison, outcome, and (occasionally) time in a clinical research issue. The PICOT procedure starts with a case scenario and a question designed to elicit an answer. "The question needs to identify the patient or population we intend to study, the intervention or treatment we plan to use, the comparison of one intervention to another (if applicable) and the outcome we anticipate," Kathy A. Jensen, MD, RN, wrote in whitepaper, which was titled "7 Steps To The Perfect Pico Search." "Once a well-structured question is formulated, researchers will be in a better position to search the literature for evidence that will support their original PICO question." Learning how to construct a complete PICOT question is vital for RNs training in a doctor of nursing practice (DNP) program, especially an online DNP program. DNP students examine PICOT question examples to determine the optimal method for formulating a question and determining a response.