Ch 4 Definitions Flashcards
Identify the relationship between critical thinking and clinical reasoning
Critical thinking is a required competency of professional nurses and is defined as a deliberate, reflective process that guides decision making and problem solving.
Requires critical thinking, knowledge, and expertise for decision making
Summarize how theories of critical thinking apply to professional nursing practice
The interaction of reflection, evidence, standards and theoretical underpinnings foster critical thinking
Used by nurses for decision making, clinical judgment, reasoning, problem solving and organizing and prioritizing care.
Describe the intellectual standards of critical thinking
Thinking critically requires competence in fundamental intellectual standards.
Standards include clarity, accuracy, precision, relevance, depth, breadth, logic, significance and fairness
Discuss critical thinking components and attitudes
Effective critical thinking depends on specific components such as having an adequate knowledge base, reasoning, making inferences and validating.
Possessing responsibility, accountability, creativity, perseverance, integrity and humility
Apply principles of critical thinking in nursing practice
Expectation of professional practice that nurses update and maintain their competency and knowledge base.
Decisions related to delegation, collaboration and teamwork
Explain errors to avoid in providing safe and competent patient care
Patient safety is potentially threatened by errors. Include bias, lack of knowledge, illogical thinking, closed mindedness, erroneous assumptions
Describe methods for improving critical thinking in nursing
Can improve clinical decision making through discussion with colleagues, think aloud activities, literature review, intentional application of knowledge, concept mapping, simulation exercises, role playing and written work
Problem solving
Systematic, analytic approach to finding a solution to a problem
Decision making
Choosing a solution or answer from among different options
Reasoning
Logical thinking that links thoughts, ideas and facts together in a meaningful way
Judgment
Result or decision related to the processes of thinking and reasoning
Clarity
Being easily understood or precise in though and style
Considered a gateway standard because a state to cannot be evaluated for accuracy or precision if ambiguous
Accuracy
Representing something in a true and correct way
Precision
Providing sufficient detail to understand exactly what was meant
Relevance
Focusing of facts and ideas directly related and pertinent to a topic
