# Fostering change, empowering faculty: comments on the NURSLITT study and the five-year rule

## TL;DR

The paper argues against the five-year rule in nursing literature searches and suggests librarians and faculty should work together to change this practice.

## Contribution

The paper challenges the arbitrary use of the five-year rule and proposes collaborative efforts to promote evidence-based practices in nursing.

## Key findings

- The origins of the five-year rule are unclear despite extensive research.
- The five-year rule lacks a scientific basis in evidence-based nursing practice.
- Librarians and nursing faculty should collaborate to address this issue.

## Abstract

The five-year rule must die. Despite an extensive literature search, the origins of the five-year rule remain unknown. In an era when the nursing profession is so focused on evidence-based practice, any approach that arbitrarily limits literature searches to articles published in the previous five years lacks scientific basis. We explore some reasons for the pervasiveness of the practice and suggest that librarians need to engage with nursing faculty, who are well-positioned to be change agents in this practice.