It is Friday. Your phone rings at 3 pm and a desperate attorney needs an expert by Monday morning. In reality, he identified the need for an expert weeks ago, but the search was postponed in hopes of mediation or a settlement that did not occur.
Or. Your own deadline is looming and you know that out there, hidden among the .pdfs and scientific abstracts, is the data that will bolster your opinion. You can support or refute a position or diagnosis, determine pre-existing conditions or alternate causation; you just cannot find the authoritative research.
You put out the call. Listservs, forums and exchanges exist for such crises and sure enough, other nurses come to your aid. Within short order, several have emailed you with names, articles, resources, whatever you need, and you can breathe again. They answered your pleas – did you remember to say thank you?
It is gratifying to help others, and even though you will one day return the favor, the moment for appreciation is now. Say thank you right away to the person who dropped what they were doing to help you.