Career Development Criteria Assignment : Decision Making

Corney and Watts (1998) define information and advice as; ‘providing an immediate response to the needs of clients who present an enquiry or reveal a need that requires more than a straightforward information response. Advice is usually limited to helping with the interpretation of information and with meeting needs already clearly understood by the client…’

Most of us have to make decisions from the time we wake up until the time we go to bed at night. Answering questions like what should I eat for breakfast, can I make that yellow light and should I go to the gym or go out for pizza all require us to make a choice or a decision (Robbins, S.P., Judge, T.A., 2009). At work I am challenged with collaborating with managers and other leaders to make decisions based on scenarios and events that occur in the hospital.

This paper will discuss three theories of decision-making that can be adopted in nursing practice, additionally how decision-making theories are able to be implemented and used. Decision-making in nursing is adopted through the critical thinking process that provides each nurse a model to make the best choices, solve problems and to meet goals in clinical practice (Berman & Kozier 2018, pp. 199-200; Levett-Jones & Hoffman 2013, pp. 4-5). Effective decision-making in nursing is a vital component and part of the role of a registered nurse; each year a substantial number of patients die due to medical errors and poor decision-making (Levett-Jones & Hoffman 2013, pp. 4-5; Nibbelink & Brewer 2017, p. 3). Through the use of

Nursing practice requires both critical thinking and clinical reasoning. Critical thinking is the process of deliberate higher level thinking to define a patient’s problem, examine the evidence-based practice in caring for the patient’s, and make options in the delivery of optimal care. Critical thinking involves the demarcation of statements of fact, judgment, and opinion. The progression of critical thinking requires the nurse to think imaginatively, use reflection, and engage in logical thinking (Alfaro-LeFevre, 2013). Critical thinking is a vital skill needed for the recognition of patient’s

160) Knowledge elevates the power of critical thinking. Critical thinking is very essential to work in areas such as Intensive Care Units, Emergency Care Units. Assessment, diagnosis, planning, implementation and evaluation are best done by a BSN than an ADN because of the power of critical thinking. The skills of critical thinking, better problem solving, and development of clinical judgment are important for increase patient acuity. Since BSN is better in critical thinking and evidence based practice, they lower mortality rate significantly. (Aiken, 2003)

Critical thinking is a nursing process that includes reflective practice, problem solving and decision making which are connected to one another. The definition of critical thinking is transferring and applying knowledge and skills in a new situation. The critical thinking is needed in a lot of aspects of the nurses’ job such as when the nurses need to provide the precise identification in the specific problems had by the patients. They need to be in detail and also critical to themselves in every time in order to be able to provide identification precisely. When you have the profession in nursing, it is important to be critical thinker. The nurses have the high responsibilities and their responsibilities are increasing from time to time.

While reviewing clinical documentation and plan of cares, I utilize critical thinking skills to analyze the data documented, review the plan of care and assessment findings, and then identify areas that may have been overlooked to achieve best patient care, while being cost effective. Kurland (2000) noted that critical reading is about discovering information whereas critical thinking is about evaluating it. (Kurland, 2000) With knowledge and experience as a nurse, the ability to discover the information present is improved, while the ability to evaluate that data becomes present with experience. Each nurse employed by our company brings a different experience level and knowledge of homecare. This is very indicative when reviewing documentation and identifying the level of critical thinking used for development of the care plan.

How is critical thinking used today? This is a typical question that a student in a non-nursing major may ask, but here at the Christ College, we would be happy to answer that for you. As a student nurse, I use and witness critical thinking and clinical reasoning in the clinical field every day. To better understand this topic, I found two articles to read and review. The first article I found is based on education and the second shows the view of a well-practiced nurse.

Underlying both the clinical decision-making process and the nursing process is the skill of critical thinking. Critical thinking has been described as the ability to gather and process data in such a way as to arrive at the best conclusion using the filters of prior knowledge, experience and external resources to overcome personal emotions, biases, and assumptions. (This description was developed during NUR/300 class, University of Phoenix, S. Colorado, March 16, 2006) Note that critical thinking is described as a

Critical thinking used throughout the nation in nursing everyday to protect and treat patients in the most effective way. An example would be if a patient walked in to the hospital with a platelet count of 1, the nurse would know that they have a risk for bleeding and would place them on “risk for bleeding” protocols. Without critical thinking, the nurse would not know what to do. Critical thinking is a learned skill that every nurse should acquire, not only during his or her education, but also throughout his or her career.

Bassham, G., Irwin, W., Nardone, H., & Wallace, J. (2002). Critical Thinking. [University of Phoenix Custom Edition e-text]. New York: McGraw-Hill Companies Publishing. Retrieved August 25, 2004 from University of Phoenix, Resource, MGT/350–Critical Thinking: Strategies in Decision Making Web site: https://ecampus.phoenix.edu/secure/resource/resource.asp

Critical thinking and clinical reasoning are similar in the fact that each term represents a set of methods that guide the nurse to reliable evidence-based practice while delivering care. Critical thinking and clinical reasoning are centered on knowledge base that is associated with the discipline of nursing. With each concept, the nurse must have an existing developed knowledge base in which to apply each concept to. Nurses apply critical thinking and clinical reasoning skills when patient care decisions are made. With both critical thinking and clinical reasoning, information about the patient is collected and examined. They work together to produce clinical judgment. They both direct nursing care to meet patients’ needs resulting in higher quality of care and better patient outcomes.

I agree with the authors on the definition and use of critical thinking and decision making skills. The benefits of being a critical thinker are enormous, they include being able to make effective decisions and learning to ask the important show-stopping questions. By using these skills you will be able to probe deeper and get to the heart of the issue. As stated in an earlier paper, the use of critical thinking when making crucial business decisions quite simply makes good business sense. Critical thinking skills are crucial in today's fast paced business world. Once these skills become

Critical thinking also helps in decision-making. Both problem solving and decision-making abilities are vital to a prosperous business.

Critical thinking skills, decision-making and problem-solving are attributes that nurses must have in today's healthcare environment. Strategies such as the use of nursing theories are sometimes implemented in education of nurses (Oldenburg & Hung, 2010). When examining the decision making and problem solving utilization within nursing theories, the reason behind