Chapter 15: Critical Thinking and Clinical Judgment

Vocabulary-style flashcards covering key terms and concepts from the lecture notes on critical thinking and clinical judgment in nursing.

Clinical Judgment

Observed outcome of critical thinking and decision making in nursing practice.

• influenced by nurses experience and knowledge

Clinical Decision Making

Process by which professional nurses use data, knowledge, and judgment to choose actions; separates professional nurses from technicians or other AP.

Model for Clinical Judgment

A framework that explains the variables involved in making decisions and clinical judgments about patients.

• Competence
  Knowledge base
  Experience
  Environment
  

  
  

Nursing Process

A systematic sequence of steps used in patient care: assessment, analysis/diagnosis, planning, implementation, and evaluation.

• requires a nurse to use general and critical competencies

Critical Thinking

Systematic and logical thinking with openness to question and reflection on reasoning to focus on important issues and improve patient outcomes.

Critical Thinking Competence

The combination of knowledge, experience, skill, and environment that supports sound clinical reasoning.

Knowledge Base

Basic and nursing science, nursing and health care theory, and patient data that underpin clinical judgment.

Experience

Personal and clinical practice experience that informs judgment and decision making.

Environment

Context that influences thinking, including time pressure, setting, task complexity, and interruptions.

General Critical Thinking

• Problem solving: obtaining info that clarifies nature of problem , suggests solutions, and evaluates the effectiveness
  ◦ Decision making
  ◦ Scientific method: uses reasoning for research

Specific Critical Thinking

diagnostic reasoning : being able to understand and think through clinical problems and know when their is enough info to make diagnosis

and clinical decision making: choosing a nursing intervention

Standards for Critical Thinking

1. Intellectual: Precise, Accurate, Consistent

2. Professional: ethical criteria for nursing judgement, evidence based for evaluation, professional responsibility

Basic Critical Thinking

• answer to problems are considers right or wrong

Complex critical thinking

clinical decisions independently

• creativity to generate ideas quickly

Commitment

able to consider a wide array of clinical alternatives