CRITICAL THINKING CHAPTERS 1, 2, & 4

Address the relationship among patient safety goals, nursing surveillance, nursing process, and critical thinking.

Nursing surveillance: Close observation of patients at risk for complications Patient safety goals: Reporting mistakes to avoid complications. Nursing process: Actively working within a process that avoids complications. Critical thinking: Thinking to create a clinical reasoning that produces no complications.

Identify four principles of the scientific method evident in critical thinking.

Observing, classifying data, drawing conclusions, conducting experiments, testing hypotheses.

Describe clinical thinking, reasoning, and judgment

The process of clinical thinking and reasoning will get you the outcome of a clinical judgment

What is clinical reasoning?

The process you use to think about issues at the point of care - for example, deciding how to prevent and manage patient problems.

What is clinical judgment?

The result of critical thinking or clinical reasoning - the conclusion, decision, or opinion you make after thinking about the issue.

Discuss the roles of ethics codes, standards, guidelines, and laws in making decisions.

Using sound clinical judgement means drawing valid conclusions and acting appropriately based on those conclusions.

Apply the "four steps" and "five rights" to delegate effectively.

1. Assess and plan 2. Communicate 3. Ensure surveillance and supervision 4. Evaluate/feedback Right task, right situation, right worker, right direction/communication, right teaching, supervision, and evaluation

Identify strategies to develop your emotional intelligence

1. Connect with emotions 2. Accept true feelings 3. Learn mood management 4. Don't be too concerned with isolated events 5. Keep in mind that emotions are contagious 6. Pay attention to stress levels

Describe five main steps to developing critical thinking.

1. Gain insight and self-awareness 2. Build trust in relationships and aim for mutual communication in all interactions. 3. Use an evidence-based reference. 4. Make the commitment to develop the attitudes, knowledge, and skills needed for critical thinking. 5. Ask for feedback.

Compare and contrast the terms thinking ahead, thinking-in-action, and thinking back.

Anticipation, thinking "on your feet", and reflective thinking.

What is the critical thinking model that promotes a competent level of care standardized by the ANA?

Assessment Diagnosis Outcome Identification Planning Implementation Evaluation

Clarify the purpose of each phase of the nursing process.

Assessment: Collect and record data Diagnose: Analyze data for outcomes and identify risks or problems that need to be managed to achieve outcomes Planning: Have a complete, recorded, outcome-focused plan for the individual patient Implementation: Put the plan into actions Evaluation: Determines if the interventions worked.

Clarify the term critical thinking indicator.

Behaviors and characteristics often seen in an individual who is a critical thinker.

Explain the relationship between skilled communication and critical thinking.

Being able to opening discuss topics with peers allows for the sharing of ideas by critically thinking.

Discuss how human habits affect critical thinking.

Being proactive and responsible for your own life, affirm your path, communicate effectively, begin with an end in mind, know your priorities, create good karma, think win-win, stay grounded in who you are, and develop god learning habits and be committed to life-long learning.

What are the aspects of the 4-circle critical thinking model?

Characteristics, theoretical and experimental knowledge/intellectual skills/competencies, interpersonal and self-management skills, technical skills/competencies.

Explain the differences among clinical, functional, and quality-of-life outcomes.

Clinical: Are the health problems solved? Functional: Is the patient able to function independently, physically, cognitively, and socially? Quality-of-life: Is the patient free of symptoms?

Give three reasons why critical thinking skills are essential

Critical thinking is based on the nursing process principle, most patients have multiple health problems, and you need critical thinking to answer questions, assess, prevent, and manage problems.

Address how to use critical thinking indicators and the 4-Circle CT model as tools to promote critical thinking.

Ct requires a blend of the 4 circles.

Compare and contrast the diagnose and treat and the predict, prevent, manage, promote approaches.

Diagnose and treat implies that we wait for evidence of problems to start treatment. Predict, prevent, manage, and promote is a proactive approach.

Clarify how your personality, learning style, upbringing, and culture affect how you think.

It determines what information you notice, the way you make decisions, and how much structure and control you like.

Make decisions about your scope of nursing practice.

Laws outlined in your state nursing practice act, rules/regulations defined by state board of nursing and professional standards.

Identify the roles of logic, intuition, and trial and error in critical thinking.

Logic: reasoning based on facts Intuition: Personal knowledge Trial and error: trying several solutions until one works

Explain why practicing responding to things gone wrong promotes critical thinking.

Making mistakes means someone is learning.

Compare and contrast the terms problem-focused thinking and outcome-focused thinking.

Outcome focused thinking is where nurses think critically to achieve overall health, while problem-focused thinking focus's on one problem.

Identify three best practices for evaluating nurses critical thinking skills.

Outcomes: Does the person usually achieve desired outcomes? Process: How does the nurse usually go about achieving outcomes? Are you seeing critical thinking indicators? Behavior: What patterns of behavior and communication do you and others observe in the person?

Explain why building trust and following a code of conduct are key to promoting critical thinking.

People think best when they like and trust one another. You have to think "Let me first understand what others want so I can give it to them."

What are some examples of a critical thinking indicator?

Proactive, self-aware, genuine/authentic, alert to context, & logical and intuitive.

Identify the relationships among healthy workplaces, learning cultures, safety cultures, and critical thinking.

Respect, healing, and humane. Requires: effective communication, true collaboration, effective decision-making, appropriate staffing, meaningful recognition, and authentic leadership.

What is critical thinking?

The ability to focus your thinking to get the results you need.

Discuss critical thinking indicators related to knowledge and intellectual skills.

They allow for safe, effective care that allow for a starting point in developing clinical reasoning and critical thinking skills.

Address how electronic health records and health information technology affect thinking.

They promote critical thinking but do not think for you.

What is the difference between thinking and critically thinking?

Thinking can be mindless (brushing your teeth) while critical thinking involves control and has a purpose.

Explain how these terms are related: Critical thinking, critical reasoning, clinical judgment, decision-making, problem-solving, and nursing process.

Thinking critically involves decision making and planning which is clinical reasoning, a part of the nursing process. Using your clinical reasoning, you reach your clinical judgment or outcome.

Clarify nurses' unique role in health care, including their main responsibilities related to diagnosis and management of medical and nursing problems.

You are accountable for monitoring and managing the nursing problem. Your role is to focus on both the problems and the human responses.

What are you doing when you think critically?

You examine assumptions, evaluate evidence, and uncover underlying values and reasons.