Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving Strategies in Radiologic Sciences

Chapter 4: Critical-Thinking and Problem-Solving Strategies

Objectives

  • Define critical thinking and problem solving.
  • Discuss the importance of critical thinking and problem solving in the radiologic sciences.
  • Describe the role of critical thinking in clinical, ethical, and technical decision making.
  • Utilize the steps involved in problem solving.
  • Apply teamwork and self-reflection in critical thinking and problem solving.
  • Analyze and determine appropriate actions for situations that require critical thinking.
  • Identify professional situations that use critical thinking and problem solving skills.
  • Develop critical thinking and problem solving skills as a radiologic science professional.

Critical Thinking

  • Critical thinking involves sound professional judgment applied with high ethical standards and integrity.
  • The nature of medical imaging inherently requires critical thinking skills.
  • Critical thinking skills are traits that employers expect in competent radiologic science professionals.

Critical Thinking in Learning

  • Critical thinking requires more than just the simple recollection of knowledge and facts.
  • Learning activities may consist of problem solving, role playing, lab simulations, case studies, situational judgment questions on exams, and so on.
  • Critical thinking skills are taught at higher levels of learning that require skills in the analysis, application, and evaluation of content.

Problem Solving and Critical Thinking Steps

  1. Identify and clarify the problem.
  2. Perform an objective analysis of the problem.
  3. Develop realistic solutions to the problem.
  4. Consider all viable solutions to the problem.
  5. Select the best solution to the problem, and implement it.

Critical Thinking Learning

  • Critical thinking skills are taught in a variety of learning settings:
    • Classroom
    • Laboratory
    • Clinical environment
  • Professional standards support and define problem solving and critical thinking skills expected in the workplace.

Critical Thinking in the Clinical Setting

  • Critical thinking will require you to thoroughly understand your ethical responsibilities.
  • Every patient experience is unique and requires adaptive measures in a wide variety of settings.
  • A complete understanding of the principles of this profession and its practice standards is essential.
  • It is important to learn to work cooperatively and “in sync” with physicians, physicists, nurses, and other allied health professionals.

Steps in Critical Thinking and Problem Solving

  1. Identify the problem.
  2. Investigate the problem, objectively.
  3. Develop viable solutions.
  4. Select the best solution, and implement it.

Case Studies

  • Case Study 1: A request for a chest radiograph examination of a young female patient who is accompanied by her mother. As you begin to take the patient’s history, you inquire about the possibility of a pregnancy, and it is clear she is uncomfortable in answering your question.
  • Case Study 2: A technologist working the third shift alone in a small community hospital receives a phone call from the local police department regarding a motor vehicle accident patient radiographed earlier that evening. The officer asks for the results of the radiographic examination and indicates that he has done this many times before.
  • Case Study 3: A mammography technologist in a small community hospital overhears a conversation between two hospital staff members regarding a mammography patient seen earlier that morning. The conversation is not subtle, and the technologist is aware that the information is clearly inaccurate.
  • Case Study 4: Working with a team member to complete a digital portable chest radiograph. The portable x-ray machine displays patient information on the computer screen. Following the completion of the portable exam, the unit is parked in the hospital ER corridor, and the coworker hurries off to lunch.

Conclusion

  • Critical thinking skills are vital in the radiologic sciences.
  • Learning occurs at three levels or domains and deals with general knowledge, attitudes and values, and psychomotor skills.
  • Critical analysis is a four-step process.
  • Good critical thinking and problem solving skills are the marks of a professional imaging technologist and often involve “team thinking.”