1. Critical Thinking in Nursing

2. Definition  Critical thinking is an active, organized, cognitive process used to carefully examine one’s thinking and the thinking of others.

3. Why do we need to think critically?  Need to make accurate and appropriate clinical decisions  Need to solve problems and find solutions  Need to plan care for each unique client and client problem  Need to seek knowledge and use it to make clinical decisions and problem solve  Need to be able to think creatively when planning care for clients

4. Aspects of Critical Thinking  To develop into an expert critical thinker the nurse needs to use: Reflection Language Intuition

5. Levels of Critical Thinking  Basic Critical Thinking  Complex Critical Thinking  Commitment

6. Critical Thinking Competencies  General critical thinking competencies used by many disciplines, in many everyday situations. Scientific method Problem solving Decision making

7. Critical Thinking Competencies  Specific critical thinking in clinical situations used by physicians, nurses, and other health care professionals. Diagnostic reasoning/ Clinical inference Clinical decision making

8. Critical Thinking Competencies  Specific critical thinking competency used in nursing practice  Nursing Process Assessment Analysis (Nursing Diagnosis) Planning Implementation Evaluation

9. Critical Thinking Model  The model helps to explain how nurses make clinical judgments/ decisions in their clinical practice that result in safe, effective, nursing care. There are 5 components in this model of critical thinking: Knowledge base Experience in nursing Critical thinking competencies Attitudes for critical thinking Standards for critical thinking

10. Critical Thinking Attitudes  Confidence  Thinking independently  Fairness  Responsibility and accountability  Risk taking  Discipline

11. Critical Thinking Attitudes  Perserverance  Creativity  Curosity  Integrity  Humility

12. Standards  Intellectual Standards- 14 intellectual standards (Paul,1993) Nurses use these when using the nursing process:  1. Confidence7. Perseverance  2. Independence8. Creativity  3. Fairness9. Curiosity  4. Responsibility10. Integrity  5. Risk taking11. Humility  6. Discipline

13. Standards  Professional standards Sound ethical standards  When critically thinking must have a sense of their own values, beliefs, feelings and their clients/ client’s family’s values, beliefs, feelings Scientifically based practice with standards developed by experts  Evidenced based practice  Standards developed as a result of evidence  These are minimum requirements that are necessary to give quality effective care