Chapter 12 Critical Thinking and Clinical Decision Making: Vital Vocabulary

Question 1

The patient’s emotional state as reflected in the patient’s physical behavior.

Answer 1

affect

Question 2

The existence of two or more chronic diseases or conditions in a patient.

Answer 2

comorbidity

Question 3

Pattern of understanding based on initially obtained information; the first stage of the critical thinking process in prehospital care.

Answer 3

concept formation

Question 4

Blindly following a protocol or algorithm without thinking about what is being done and whether or not it is working.

Answer 4

cookbook medicine

Question 5

The process of reaching conclusions based on comparing the patient’s presentation with information from your training, education, and past experiences; the second stage of the critical thinking process in prehospital care.

Answer 5

data interpretation

Question 6

Vague or unclear aspects of medicine.

Answer 6

medical ambiguity

Question 7

Focusing on or considering only one aspect of a situation without first taking into account all possibilities.

Answer 7

tunnel vision