Importance Of Critical Thinking In Nursing

Teaching critical thinking to students is an essential tool to give the students a solid foundation when they are entering the workplace. Nurse educators are called upon to teach the student the fundamentals of nursing. Critical thinking by one definition is the ability to analyze and process the analysis in order make informed decisions while caring for the patient. The purpose of this paper is to review some of the literature in order to help decipher what critical thinking is all about and to take a look at the importance and potential ways in which to teach critical thinking to nursing students,

The ability to think is an innate action that, for the most part, all people possess. Nonetheless, not everybody has the ability or knowledge of how to develop this quality into something greater and beneficial. Critical thinking is not inherent; rather the skills necessary to think analytically must be learned and practiced with an open mind. It involves listening with the intent of understanding others, drawing conclusions based on strong evidence and asking curiously about the situation. Not only must one be willing to evaluate a situation slowly and thoroughly, but one must also respect the views of others and accept the possibility of being wrong. These skills and attitudes are only some of the traits of a strong critical thinker. Cheif. Webber, on Grey’s

Ask any healthcare professional if critical thinking is a necessary tool to have while working with patients and the answer would be an overwhelming YES! IF you ask those nurses how did they develop critical thinking the answer varies, Nurses would not be able to provide sound patient care without book knowledge which aids in critical thinking. In the article Brain Power: Critical thinking skills are nursing’s stock and trade (2011), the author points out that critical thinking is not the same as problem solving. Critical thinking is the process of taking information and applying it to a situation to solve or improve. As an operating room nurse, I utilize critical thinking on a daily basis.

To adopt this attitude, it is necessary to have an open mind, healthy skepticism, intellectual humility, to think freely, and to have high motivation. A critical thinker must be able to view aspects different from everyone else, but at the same time be able to recognize when to doubt claims that seem to be false. A critical thinker must also have a free mind. To be able to think freely, one must restrain from to believe a certain way because of social pressures. For some, this may be impossible. One must be willing to ask if something is bothering that other individual, and if so, to have the courage to temporarily abandon one 's space until he or she is able to complete objectives. Lastly, a critical thinker must have high motivation to be able to succeed. The only way one can overcome the lack of essential knowledge on a subject is study to reach a sufficient level of understanding before making judgments. This may require the critical thinker to ask many questions, which can be unsettling to those asked to respond. A critical thinker cannot be

As I reflect on the past 15 months of attending CCU. I recall the excitement, and the overwhelming stress of having to work full time and attend online college. I was not sure that I could complete my degree at fifty years old. Because of being out of school for over 30 years. I was somewhat reluctant to give it a try. With many prayers and asking God for his favor, grace, along with the focus and tenacity to understand all that was ahead of me. However, after researching several universities, I felt strongly God was leading me to enroll at CCU. This verse comes to mind in writing this paper, “Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say” (Exodus 4:12 NIV).

Critical thinking is a part of every day life in order to become a fair-minded thinker. Within the next couple of years I am hoping to become an educator for future Surgical Technologist in our hospital. We as adults working in the medical field have to you utilize this on a daily basis, but being human we all fall short to often. The ability to analyze a concept objectively, considering the facts and differing perspectives to reach a sound, logical conclusion is thinking critically (Mendes, 2017). This is the definition that can help everyone in the workplace. Critical thinking is not an automatic thought process, it is a skill that everyone needs to be educated on sometime in their life. Most people base their decisions on their own

Critical thinking is summerized as one person collects factual information to come up with a concept without applying their personal perspective to form a judgement. Not only does this involve daily life situations and academics, but health proffesions as well. In order to critical think, you must think rationally. Health professions want the best choice and the highest quality for the care of their patients and to pursue this goal one must simply find the best explination to the situation. A great way to apply this is to be open-minded and open to new ideas or oppurtunites. Patients are going to approach a health profession not knowing what is wrong with them. They will be relying on your expertise to tell them what may be the best method

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 problems and the execution of interventions to endorse effectual care outcomes (Bittencourt & Crossetti, 2012).

Thus, critical thinking is something that is self-regulatory and purposeful judgment, a reflective, reasoning an interactive method for making judgment regarding what to do or believe in. from nursing perspective, critical thinking is the cognitive engine which drives the critical judgment and knowledge development in nursing (Meunier, 2003). The experimental model for reflective decision making is mainly grounded and matched from holistic clinical contexts and holistic patient centered care where it is delivered. This needs nurses to apply wide range of practical, observational, emotional and interpersonal skills, that is not restricted to scientific research and theory whereas applicable to patient care. Such holistic observation of reflective decision making is often supported from multiple intelligence theory (Gardner, 1987), that mainly identified spatial-visual, linguistic, logical-mathematical, intrapersonal and interpersonal forms, bodily-kinesthetic and musical-auditory intelligence forms completing wide range of skills. Nursing is basically an occupation that has various diverse type of intelligence that can be practiced and applied. Various nurses have more than one. Let’s consider three major Intelligence types that are useful for a

"Critical Thinking at Triage: Ask the Question," is the title of the first article I reviewed regarding using critical thinking in the nursing profession. Currently, I work at a local hospital in the Emergency Department. So, triaging patients is something I do on a regular basis. The author, Diane Gurney, writes about how the triage nurse must use critical thinking skills when triaging patients. From my personal experience, it is not uncommon for the beds in the Emergency Department to be completely full. This means that after being triaged that some patients may have to wait in the waiting area before coming back to a room. The article states that "asking discriminating questions can be key in determining the problem and ultimately, the patient's priority when direct bedding is unavailable" (Gurney, 2015, p. 362). Basically, ask the patient different questions regarding the complaint to help make a conclusion on what might be going on with the patient. The nurse should think about the worst possibilities that may occur.

It is noticed that this model of nursing has gained significant success and popularity among the individuals but some issues are related to the appropriateness of this assessment tool. Timmins & Kelly (2008) argued that this model serves as a checklist. Moreover, the association of the model with the healthcare is also criticised because it is very hospital and medical oriented. While some of the critics stated that activities of living are based on physical aspect due to which patients might face problem in performing these activities. However, some of the criticism has been raised regarding the model and its implementation in the nursing it is still considered as the most effective model to be used because of its simplicity and effectiveness.

Knowledge of nurses is based on client’s health experience with their environment and nurse client relationship. Metaparadigm of nursing has four concept person, health, environment and nursing from which theories and philosophies are originated. These concepts are linked with one another. This is the reasons why nursing model and grant theories are limited to nurse patient situation and person environment interaction. (Kenny, 2013).

This paper will examine the purpose of Critical Thinking and its importance in the medical field, especially in the field of nursing. There are many aspects to nursing, but the two that will be discussed in this paper are critical thinking and concept mapping. Critical thinking is essential to skilled nursing; therefore, it is essential to nursing education. It is believed skilled nursing depends upon a well-reasoned philosophy of nursing rooted in a deep and rich conception of critical thinking. In the educational curriculum for nursing students, the focus has been to present problem-based learning and evidence-based practice concepts to help increase critical thinking skills. Critical thinking is the foundation in nursing to provide

Some topics that will be discussed in this paper will be how an individual can apply the top three critical thinking skills at work, school, and throughout everyday life. Likewise, the other items that will be clarified is the meaning of each of these critical thinking skills. The top three critical thinking skills are to analyze, synthesize, and to evaluate. These skills are a central facet of everyday life and to know how to properly use them will help in the long run. Each of these skills build off each other and it would be good to know what these skills mean in their entirety. The top three critical thinking skills will be explained and examples will be provided about how one can use these at work, school, and throughout life.

Job postings often state that the successful applicant must have "superior critical thinking and problem solving skills." Employers tell college administrators that graduates, both from undergraduate and graduate programs, often lack these skills.