Fundamentals of Nursing: Clinical Judgment

Clinical Judgment in Nursing Practice

• Nurses must make accurate and appropriate clinical decisions or judgments.
• Clinical judgment is the observed outcome of critical thinking and decision making, and separates professional nurses from technicians or other assistive personnel (AP).

Models for Clinical Judgment

• Models help to explain concepts, and are necessary to explain the many variables involved in making decisions and clinical judgments about patients.

Critical Thinking

• Critical thinking is the ability to think in a systematic and logical manner with openness to question and reflect on the reasoning process.
• The aim of critical thinking is to focus on the important issues in any clinical situation and make decisions that produce desired patient outcomes.

Critical Thinking Competencies

• General critical thinking competencies include the scientific method, problem solving, and decision making.
• Specific critical thinking competencies include diagnostic reasoning and clinical decision making.

Levels of Critical Thinking

• The three levels of critical thinking are basic critical thinking, complex critical thinking, and commitment.

Components of Critical Thinking in the Clinical Judgment Model

• The components of critical thinking in the clinical judgment model include competence, knowledge base, experience, and environment.

Critical Thinking Attitudes

• Critical thinking attitudes include confidence, perseverance, thinking independently, fairness, responsibility and accountability, risk taking, discipline, creativity, curiosity, integrity, and humility and self-awareness.

Evaluation of Clinical Judgments

• Evaluation of clinical judgments involves reflection, meeting with colleagues, concept mapping, and critical thinking synthesis.

Clinical Judgment in Nursing Practice

• Nurses must make accurate and appropriate clinical decisions or judgments.
• Clinical judgment is the observed outcome of critical thinking and decision making, and separates professional nurses from technicians or other assistive personnel (AP).

Models for Clinical Judgment

• Models help to explain concepts, and are necessary to explain the many variables involved in making decisions and clinical judgments about patients.

Critical Thinking

• Critical thinking is the ability to think in a systematic and logical manner with openness to question and reflect on the reasoning process.
• The aim of critical thinking is to focus on the important issues in any clinical situation and make decisions that produce desired patient outcomes.

Critical Thinking Competencies

• General critical thinking competencies include the scientific method, problem solving, and decision making.
• Specific critical thinking competencies include diagnostic reasoning and clinical decision making.

Levels of Critical Thinking

• The three levels of critical thinking are basic critical thinking, complex critical thinking, and commitment.

Components of Critical Thinking in the Clinical Judgment Model

• The components of critical thinking in the clinical judgment model include competence, knowledge base, experience, and environment.

Critical Thinking Attitudes

• Critical thinking attitudes include confidence, perseverance, thinking independently, fairness, responsibility and accountability, risk taking, discipline, creativity, curiosity, integrity, and humility and self-awareness.

Evaluation of Clinical Judgments

• Evaluation of clinical judgments involves reflection, meeting with colleagues, concept mapping, and critical thinking synthesis.

This quiz covers clinical judgment and critical thinking in nursing practice, focusing on making accurate and appropriate clinical decisions. It is based on Chapter 15 of the 11th edition of Fundamentals of Nursing.