critical thinking in nursing

critical thinking in nursing

The Importance of Critical Thinking in Nursing

1. Introduction

Give a man a fish, it will feed him for today. Teach a man to fish and he will never go hungry. The same concept applies to nursing. If a nurse is simply told what the signs and symptoms of a particular disease are, and is taught to regurgitate that back to a physician, then he or she is only as good as the information they were taught. If a nurse is taught how to think critically, and is willing to do so, then the patient will receive the best care possible, the information a nurse has at his or her disposal will be current, and the nurse will have the ability to learn new information as he or she progresses. Critical thinking is an essential element in decision-making, which involves choices, and problem-solving, which requires analysis. Decision making is the key to the survival of an organization, being the heart and soul of the company. The decisions that are made will affect anything and everything within the organization, which is why decision-making is the most crucial role of a manager. There is a manager in every job and the presence of decision-making is even in the lowest paying job. A nurse makes decisions every single day. Decision-making in nursing this is what tells us what is important about critical thinking and why it is a very important concept in the decision-making process.

2. Benefits of Critical Thinking in Nursing

There are many positive aspects to critical thinking. One is that it creates a more desirable work environment. When nurses are faced with stressful situations, critical thinking helps to provide structure and direction. With improved critical thinking, decisions are more logical and patient-centered. It is much easier to find the right answer when using critical thinking, which will lead to patients having the best possible outcome.

What is critical thinking? It is an active, organized, cognitive process used to carefully examine one’s thinking and the thinking of others. It involves the use of evidence such as data, facts, and experiences, and is used in nursing to follow a decision through to solving patient problems and providing quality patient care.

Learning to think critically is very important for nurses. In today’s complex healthcare environment, it is more important than ever to have well-developed critical thinking skills.

“Benefits of Critical Thinking in Nursing”

3. Developing Critical Thinking Skills in Nursing

This statement is very relevant to today’s contemporary nursing. Research into the quality and safety of patient care suggests that RNs should be making clinical decisions of a high standard, but too often, this is not the case. It is documented that many RNs are using superficial problem-solving methods that are likely to lead to a poor decision or an impasse (gulp! A matter of urgency, Foster, 2007) as cited by Pearson et al. (2009). Wrong decisions or indecisiveness can cause harm to the patient or hinder the provision of timely treatment. Pearson’s research also offers evidence that the experience of the nurse is not necessarily the dominant factor in good decision making, but rather the experience involving a variety of different patient care situations, critical thinking ability, and specific continuing education. Pearson et al. (2009) became curious about how we can help all RNs improve their clinical decision making and conducted research on a solution that can help increase both the competence and confidence in decision making for RNs. The outcome they are aiming for is an improvement in patient care. Critical thinking is an essential method to achieve this goal. Each diagnosis and treatment is implemented based on a certain reasoning process. When that process has been done thoroughly and successfully, the results are positive. But when it has been done incorrectly or prematurely, the patient care plan will deviate resulting in an adverse effect on the patient desired outcome.

There are a number of nursing theories which emphasize critical thinking, but the one I have chosen to discuss in this paper is by Kerry Walters, who has expanded on the works of others to help define critical thinking for nurses. Walters (1995) states that one of the markers of a profession is the ability to think critically. He then suggests that if nursing is to be a well-respected field of practice and an important contributor to the whole health care team, then all nurses must become competent critical thinkers. Critical thinking is an essential process for safe, efficient, and skillful nursing practice. The more it is practiced, the stronger the ability of the nurse to make the right clinical decision in a timely matter (retrieved from [Link] 17/01/07).

4. Applying Critical Thinking in Nursing Practice

Problem solving is a systematic process that involves breaking the work situation into individual components and then examining each to determine the best course of action. This requires an inquisitive mind in searching for the most beneficial alternative. The nurse may use knowledge and skills from past experiences to help solve a problem and try to reflect on those that were effective and those that were not. Problem solving is always a process in evaluating what can be changed in order to provide the best care for a patient. This method, of course, ties in with the nursing process.

Critical thinking is embedded in a nurse’s everyday routine. They flex this mental muscle each day they enter the floor. When it comes to decision making, which is the cusp of nursing practice, it is crucial to find a way to make a decision that will be the most effective and beneficial to the patient. This may mean making a decision for a simpler issue during an encounter or a complex decision with more than one answer.

Critical thinking is the term given to the thought processes used in problem solving and thinking critically. This means that the process of thinking must be precise, logical, and correct. This is the opposite of assuming that the information being received is correct at face value and using standard problem-solving techniques to arrive at the solution. Quality of care today is a direct result of the way nurses think. The quality of their clinical judgment is significant to the health and wellbeing of those in their care. The decisions and actions they take define who they are as clinicians. This essay describes some of the more common clinical decision-making methods and reasoning processes that occur in the nursing profession. Combined with the characteristics of critical thinking, these processes provide a framework for reflection. This, in turn, helps with the accumulation of information, analysis of situations, and the development and implementation of solutions. This is known as the critical thinking model (CTM).

5. Conclusion

It is noted that in most situations, the status of the patient’s health they are still not out of danger. An example of this would be a postoperative patient. They are often in a fragile state and are at risk of a massive deterioration in their health. In this case, it is important for the nurse to monitor the patient and their condition. Using their critical thinking ability, the nurse is able to evaluate the situation and determine what is the best course of action for the patient. Oftentimes, the patient’s vital signs may start to change. At this point, the nurse may have to call upon their clinical knowledge to determine the cause of the alteration in the patient’s condition. If a correct cause is found, then the nurse may be required to perform an intervention to correct the problem. At any point in this process, there are a multitude of alternatives of action that can be taken. Using critical thinking, the nurse is able to determine the best direction to take in an effort to bring a positive result for the patient. This is very similar to a problem-solving situation, and it has been said that critical thinking is a problem-solving activity.

In conclusion, we must stress that critical thinking is a function that has seen an increase in attention and has shown increasing importance for professional practice. Decision making is an essential part of the nursing profession. On a daily basis, nurses are required to decide which actions to take. The nurse often has to make split-second decisions that can save a patient’s life. Because of the possibility of mortality if the wrong decision is made, it is vital that the decision-making process has a positive outcome. When danger is evident in the decision-making process, it is well known that a safer, more conservative decision is needed. It is associated that critical thinking is highly linked to decision making and the ability to make sound clinical judgments. This is what nurses are doing every day. They are attempting to make the best decision possible for the patient’s situation. The decisions that they make can significantly affect the patient’s health and well-being. Making the wrong decision can put the patient in a worse situation. By using critical thinking, the nurse is able to analyze the pros and cons of the situation and choose the best alternative that will have a positive effect on the patient.