Clinical Decision-Making objectives
Discuss how critical thinking is utilized in
nursing
Critical thinking is used to analyze situations, make informed decisions, and provide effective patient care
What behaviors can improve critical thinking skills in nursing care?
Behaviors include active listening, asking questions, and reflecting on experiences.
What are important cues that assist in clustering data at a beginner level?
Important cues include patient symptoms, medical history, and vital signs.
How can client care situations be evaluated using problem solving?
By identifying problems, generating solutions, implementing interventions, and assessing outcomes.
Why is critical thinking important in clinical judgment decisions?
It ensures that nurses make safe, effective, and evidence-based decisions for patient care.
A pregnant patient presents with rising blood pressure and protein in her urine. After testing, the provider diagnoses the patient with preeclampsia and informs her that they are taking her to the operating room to deliver the baby through cesarean delivery immediately.
Which decision-making model is displayed?
A. Paternalism
B. Consumerism
C. Mutualism
D. Maternalism
Paternalism
This is an example of paternalism, where the provider has the education and experience to make the best decision for the mom and baby.
The nurse is caring for a neonate who requires nasogastric (NG) tube feedings due to prematurity. The NG tube frequently slips out of position, and the nurse tries different approaches to prevent this from happening.
Which critical thinking skill is the nurse demonstrating?
A. Inquiry
B. Intellect
C. Reasoning
D. Reflection
Inquiry
When using inquiry, objective information is examined in order to clarify and find solutions to problems. Inquiry uses questions to find alternative approaches or solutions
The school nurse is looking at the effects that increasing recess and recreation time has in the classroom. The nurse plans to assign some classes within the school an additional hour of recess each day, and the remaining classes will stay on the current schedule.
Which concept of problem solving and critical thinking should be most useful in this situation?
A. The scientific method
B Intuition
C. The nursing process
D. Trial and error
The scientific method
The scientific method is a formalized and systematic approach to solving problems and is best used in this situation.
The nurse decides to take vital signs and draw morning blood work before the patient's family comes to visit.
Which type of decision does the nurse's action reflect?
A. Scheduling Decision
B. Value decision
C. Time-Management decision
D. Priority decision
Scheduling Decision
The nurse is caring for a toddler who appears frightened by the nurse. To make the child more at ease, the nurse gives the toddler a disposable tape measure to play with.
Which critical thinking concept is the nurse displaying?
A. creativity
B. concreteness
C. confidence
D. independence
Creativity
The nurse is using creativity or finding a solution by using a method that is unconventional.
What is Clinical decison making?
a process nurses use in the clinical setting to evaluate and select the best actions to meet desired goals.
What is Intellect?
defined as the ability to think, understand, and reason.
What is a salient cue?
the leading, most noticeable, or most important data
what is clinical judgment?
the nurse’s determination and provision of appropriate care to the patient
what is deductive reasoning?
the nurse works from the “top down” by starting with general ideas, observations, or principles and analyzing them to develop specific predictions
How should a plan of care be revised?
Based on reflection and evaluation of patient outcomes and responses to interventions.
By identifying relationships among cues and categorizing them based on relevance to the patient's condition
What is the 4 column plan in nursing care?
A plan that includes columns for nursing diagnosis, goals/desired outcomes, nursing interventions, and evaluation.
What are key characteristics for a clinical pathway?
It includes clinical interventions, time frames for completion, and expected outcomes.
What are the three categories of priority levels in nursing interventions?
Priority 1 (must do), Priority 2 (should do), and Priority 3 (nice to do).
What are common pitfalls in prioritization in nursing?
Poor time management, inappropriate delegation, and failing to involve patients in their care.
What are the two qualities that affect a patient's perception of nursing care?
Effectiveness and efficiency
What are ethical considerations when prioritizing care?
Ensuring fairness and doing no harm while allocating time and attention to patients.
Which clinical situation best exemplifies the nurse who is choosing between alternatives when making a clinical decision?
A. The nurse administers an intravenous (IV) narcotic instead of an oral narcotic.
B. The nurse changes the patient's position numerous times until the patient appears in less pain.
C. The nurse has a "gut reaction" to the patient's pain and calls the patient's physician.
D. The nurse determines that the patient's nursing diagnosis is Pain, Acute.
A. The nurse administers an intravenous (IV) narcotic instead of an oral narcotic.
The nurse is working on the oncology floor of the hospital and notes that many of the patients request internet access so that they can communicate with loved ones more easily. Using this information, the nurse obtains a grant to purchase several laptops for the patients to share.
Which type of reasoning did the nurse use to develop this protocol?
A. Inductive reasoning
B. Clinical reasoning
C. Careful reasoning
D. Deductive reasoning
Inductive reasoning