Critical Thinking Assessment
Our everyday activities require critical thinking through a multi-dimensional approach. This situation is synonymous with decision-making in the healthcare scope around the globe because it requires efficient results that focus on the patient and family care. Consequently, the process of arriving at healthcare decisions requires critical thinking to ensure the delivery of top-notch healthcare services (Stewart, 2017). In particular, the nursing specialty consists of practices that uphold safe, effective, and quality care in the hospital setting. Therefore, this paper will discuss the utilization of the critical assessment tool in the healthcare setting in a bid to achieve these standards.
A specific population that should utilize critical thinking
Mostly nurses who have some experience struggle to fit into new units in the hospital setting, making the process overwhelming. The transition from a field well known to them to an entirely new work environment makes them novices despite the prior experience gathered. Therefore, applying the Benner novice to expert theory would suffice in assisting them in making sound clinical decisions. The argument as penned by Benner aids “novice” nurses in increasing knowledge and skills without going through the process of learning about theory (Arzani, Lotfi, & Abedi 2016). Consequently, experienced nurses transitioning to a new unit would be the ideal population that would utilize critical thinking in making clinical decisions at their workstation.
Significance of cognitive habits or behaviors that revitalize critical thinking
In the nursing scope, there is a wide range of factors that trigger critical thinking among nurses. Genetics, being one of them, influences the thought process, self-concept, and confidence concerning the delivery of knowledge and skills. Emotional condition in a particular situation is another factor that affects the process of critical thinking, for instance, the exhibition of anxiousness. Personal beliefs and generational values may also influence critical thinking when interpreting patients’ diseases (Whiffin & Hasselder, 2013). Personal and nonverbal cues also affect critical thinking as they initiate subjective judgment of a situation or individual.
Assessment and support of clinical decisions using evidence-based information are essential cognitive behaviors that are critical for nurses in the workplace. Through this behavior, any experienced nurse transitioning to a new unit could develop relevant skills to help them gain the competency. For instance, engagement in self-reflection and collegial dialogue on professional practice aids them in delivering quality care. Application of professional, ethical standards and models or theories, on the other hand, aid in the provision of safe care to patients aimed at a positive outcome Poorchangizi, et al. (2017).
Questions addressing specific cognitive habits or behavior
| Question | Rationale |
| 1. What are the relevant skills you have mastered that will guide you in handling situations in the new unit? | This question quantifies the confidence level inherent in the nurse regarding the application of nursing knowledge in practice to provide quality care effectively. |
| 2. What is will be your way of handling experience in the new unit? | This question is assessing the easiness of adapting to the new unit and the approaches that will be utilized to tackle the challenges of nursing care delivery. |
| 3. What new nursing practices would you need to develop in the new unit far from those acquired in the old unit? | The question investigates how the nurse would acquire new competencies and apply them to transform the new environment with recent knowledge. |
| 4. What is the level of readiness you believe to possess regarding the new environment? | The query focuses on flexibility and tackles the capacity to adapt, modify, or change thoughts. |
| 5. What motivates you to query information availed by a source in authority? | Inherent inquisitiveness is quantified in this question and relies on the fact that every nurse should inquire about supporting evidence-based information before giving care. |
| 6. What are the previous challenges that you encountered that affected you, but you still stuck to the task? | This question investigates the tolerance and perseverance of a nurse and how he or she addresses issues in case of disputes. |
| 7. What challenges did you encounter in your thinking and reflection that impeded the resolution of any dispute in the workplace? | The query investigates the process of self-reflection regarding a situation and how critical thinking is applied in dispute resolution. |
| 8. What criteria did you employ to gauge if your decisions were right or wrong? | This question measures how a nurse could use the decision-making process while adhering to individual, social, and professional guidelines. |
Conclusion
The nursing practice revolves around making sound clinical judgments based on previous knowledge to provide efficient patient care. Critical thinking is a necessary attribute in this process and increases the competency levels of any nurse. Therefore, critical thinking should be evaluated at an individual level and incorporated into primary clinical care. Moreover, the cultivation of this attribute should occur in preclinical years through ongoing education and curriculums. In conclusion, nurses undergoing all these processes would develop essential competencies and cognitive habits and skills necessary for nursing practice.
References
Arzani, A., Lotfi, M., & Abedi, A. R. (2016). Experiences and clinical decision-making of operating room nurses based on benner’s theory. Journal of Babol University Of Medical Sciences, 18(4), 35-40.
Poorchangizi, B., Farokhzadian, J., Abbaszadeh, A., Mirzaee, M., & Borhani, F. (2017). The importance of professional values from clinical nurses’ perspective in hospitals of a medical university in Iran. BMC medical Ethics, 18(1), 1-7.
Stewart, A. (2017). Critical thinking in nursing: A critical discourse analysis of a perpetual paradox (Doctoral dissertation, Auckland University of Technology).
Whiffin, C. J., & Hasselder, A. (2013). Making the link between critical appraisal, thinking and analysis. British Journal of Nursing, 22(14), 831–835.