Critical thinking characteristics include
a. Considering what is important in a given situation.
b. Accepting one, established way to provide patient care.
c. Making decisions based on intuition.
d. Being able to read and follow physician's orders.
ANS: A
Critical thinking involves being able to decipher what is relevant and important in a given situation and to make a clinical decision based on that importance. Patient care can be provided in many ways. Clinical decisions should be based on evidenc
Which of these patient scenarios is most indicative of critical thinking?
a. Administering pain relief medication according to what was given last shift
b. Asking a patient what pain relief methods, pharmacological and nonpharmacological, have worked in t
ANS: B
Asking the patient what pain relief methods have worked in the past is an example of exploring many options for pain relief. Administering medication based on a previous
assessment is not practicing according to standards of care. The nurse is to c
Professional nurses are responsible for making clinical decisions to
a. Prove traditional methods of providing nursing care to patients.
b. Take immediate action when a patient's condition worsens.
c. Apply clear textbook solutions to patients' problems.
ANS: B
Professional nurses are responsible for making clinical decisions to take immediate action when a patient's condition worsens. Patient care should be based on evidence-based practice, not on tradition. Clear textbooks solutions to patient problems
The nurse needs a reminder of professional responsibility when performing which of these
actions?
a. Making an informed clinical decision
b. Making an ethical clinical decision
c. Making a clinical decision in the patient's best interest
d. Making a clini
ANS: D
The professional nurse is responsible for assessing patients each shift. Making informed, ethical decisions in the patient's best interest is practicing responsibly.
Which of the following demonstrates a nurse utilizing self-reflection to improve clinical decision making?
a. Uses an objective approach in all situations
b. Obtains data in an orderly fashion
c. Improves a plan of care while thinking back on intervention
ANS: C
Self-reflection utilizes critical thinking when thinking back on the effectiveness of interventions and how they were performed. The other options are not the best examples of
self-reflection but do represent good nursing practice. Using an objecti
A nursing instructor needs to evaluate students' abilities to synthesize data and identify relationships between nursing diagnoses. Which learning assignment is best suited for this instructor's needs?
a. Concept mapping
b. Reflective journaling
c. Readin
ANS: A
Concept maps challenge the student to synthesize data and identify relationships between nursing diagnoses. Reflective journaling involves thinking back to clarify concepts. Reading assignments and lecture do not best provide an instructor the abil
What is the first component of the critical thinking model for clinical decision making?
a. Experience
b. Nursing process
c. Attitude
d. A scientific knowledge base
ANS: D
A scientific knowledge base is the first component for clinical decision making. After acquiring a sound knowledge base, the nurse can then apply knowledge to different clinical situations using the nursing process to gain valuable experience. A cr
A new graduate nurse will make the best clinical decisions by applying the components of the nursing critical thinking model and which of the following?
a. Drawing on past clinical experiences to formulate standardized care plans
b. Relying on recall of i
ANS: D
Using the nursing process along with applying components of the nursing critical thinking model will help the new graduate nurse make the most appropriate clinical decisions. Care plans should be individualized, and recalling facts does not utilize
The critical thinking skill of evaluation in nursing practice can be best described as
a. Examining the meaning of data.
b. Reviewing the effectiveness of nursing actions.
c. Supporting findings and conclusions.
d. Searching for links between data and the
ANS: B
Reviewing the effectiveness of interventions best describes evaluation. Examining the meaning of data is inference. Supporting findings and conclusions provides explanations. Searching for links between the data and the nurse's assumptions describe
The patient appears to be in no apparent distress, but vital signs taken by assistive personnel reveal an extremely low pulse. The nurse then auscultates an apical pulse and asks the patient
whether he has any complaints or a history of heart problems. Th
ANS: A
Interpretation involves being orderly in data collection, looking for patterns to categorize data, and clarifying uncertain data. This nurse is clarifying the data in this situation. Evaluation involves determining the effectiveness of intervention
A patient continues to report postsurgical incision pain at a level of 9 out of 10 after pain medicine is given. The next dose of pain medicine is not due for another hour. What should the critically thinking nurse do first?
a. Explain to the patient that
ANS: B
The critically thinking nurse should explore all options for pain relief first. The nurse should use critical thinking to determine the cause of the pain and determine various options for pain, not just ordered pain medications. The nurse can act i
The nursing student can best develop critical thinking skills by doing which of the following?
a. Studying 3 hours more each night
b. Actively participating in all clinical experiences
c. Interviewing staff nurses about their nursing experiences
d. Attend
ANS: B
Nursing is an applied science, and to apply knowledge learned and develop critical thinking skills to make clinical decisions, the student should actively participate in all clinical experiences. Studying for longer hours, interviewing nurses, and
While caring for a hospitalized older adult female post hip surgery, the new graduate nurse is faced with the task of inserting an indwelling urinary catheter, which involves rotating the hip into a contraindicated position. The nurse exhibits critical th
ANS: C
The nurse must use critical thinking skills in this situation to adapt positioning technique. In practice, patient procedures are not always presented as in a textbook, but they are individualized. A urologist consult is not warranted for position,
The nurse enters a room to find the patient sitting up in bed crying. How would the nurse display a critical thinking attitude in this situation?
a. Tell the patient she'll be back in 30 minutes.
b. Set a box of tissues at the patient's bedside before lea
ANS: C
The nurse should try to find out why the patient is crying to intervene appropriately. Telling the patient that she will return, providing tissues, and limiting visitors may be appropriate actions but do not address the reason why the patient is cr
A patient is having trouble reaching the water fountain while holding on to crutches. The nurse suggests that the patient place the crutches against the wall while stabilizing himself with two hands on the water fountain. Which critical thinking attitude
ANS: D
The nurse uses creativity in this situation to figure out how the patient can stabilize himself while getting a drink of water. Humility is recognizing when more information is needed to make a decision. Confidence is being well prepared to perform
A new nurse is pulled from the surgical unit to work on the oncology unit. The nurse displays the critical thinking attitudes of humility and responsibility by
a. Refusing the assignment.
b. Asking for an orientation to the unit.
c. Assuming that patient
ANS: B
Humility and responsibility are displayed when the nurse realizes lack of knowledge and requests an orientation to the unit. The other answer choices represent inappropriate actions in this situation and are not examples of humility and responsibil
Professional standards influence a nurse's clinical decisions by
a. Bypassing the patient's feelings to promote ethical standards.
b. Establishing minimal passing standards for testing.
c. Requiring the nurse to use critical thinking for the highest level
ANS: C
Upholding professional standards requires nurses to use critical thinking for the highest level of quality nursing care. Bypassing the patient's feelings is not practicing according to professional standards. The primary purpose of professional sta
A nurse who is caring for a patient with a pressure ulcer fails to apply the recommended dressing according to hospital policy. If the patient is harmed, the nurse could be subject to legal action for not adhering to
a. Fairness.
b. Intellectual standards
ANS: D
Institutional practice guidelines are established standards and policies that can be used in court to make judgments about nursing actions. Intellectual standards are guidelines or principles for rational thought. Fairness and independent reasoning
Which of these findings, if identified in a plan of care, should the registered nurse revise because it is not characteristic of critical thinking and the nursing process?
a. Patient's reactions to diagnostic testing
b. Nurse's assumptions about hospital
ANS: B
The nurse should not assume when a patient is going to be discharged and document this information in a plan of care. Making assumptions is not an example of a critical thinking skill. The patient's reactions to testing, having several nursing diag
The nursing process involves which of the following steps in the clinical decision-making process? (Select all that apply.)
a. Identifying patient needs
b. Diagnosing the disease process
c. Determining priorities of care
d. Setting goals
e. Performing nur
ANS: A, C, D, E
Diagnosing disease is not a nursing action. Evaluating the effectiveness of medical treatments is not a nursing action either. Nurses are to use the nursing process to evaluate the effectiveness of nursing interventions, not medical treatm