This article offers guidelines for the effective use of qualitative research in various clinical studies. The authors discuss the ways to judge the quality and fit of research findings before applying them to clinical situations, ideas about uses of qualitative research in new clinical settings. They also explore the ways for the application of qualitative techniques to inform clinical questions outside of formal research settings. Qualitative research, suggestively, is well-suited for providing the opportunity for the reader to reflect on his or her own situation in a different light. Many qualitative studies are designed to explore the process of an illness. Nurses are suggested to use the reports of this type of study to measure the progress of their patients. By using qualitative research, nursing professionals, suggestively, may help their patients move through the process of their illness.