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Nursing Process: Its Impact on Critical Thinking and Clinical Judgment

Troy Davis
Dixie State University












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Nursing Process: Its Impact on Critical Thinking and Clinical Judgment.
When I completed high school, I started working for the Bureau of Land Management as
a wildland firefighter. After a short time, I realized that not everyone had the ability to critically
think their way through situations or problems. So far in nursing, it seems like everyone is at a
different stage with different abilities. In this paper I am going to explore the field of nursing to
see if the nursing process is a common starting point for nurses and how it affects the nurses
ability to critically think or use clinical judgment.
Nursing Process
Nursing is a complex field that is housed within the healthcare profession. There are
many different types of nursing jobs in the U.S., and each has its own focus on different parts of
human physiology. Some examples of where nurses work include the operating room (OR),
cardiovascular unit (CVU), emergency department (ED), pediatrics, and home health. According
to the American Nursing Association the one key element that ties every nurse together is the
nursing process (The nursing process, n.d.). ADPIE is an acronym that stands for assessment,
diagnose, plan, interventions, and evaluate. This systematic approach serves as the frame work
for nursing students and nurses to build patients care. It is a process that if applied correctly
guides one through basic patient care. In essence, the nursing process is fundamental for
nurses to be able to render quality patient care (n.d.)
Critical Thinking
Critical thinking...the awakening of the intellect to the study of itself ("The critical
thinking,n.d.). Critical thinking is imperative to nursing as it creates systematic approach that
allows one to reason through information or situations. Exposure to new unfamiliar situations is
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a way to increase the ability to critical think. It takes time and a willingness to continually learn
new things. This is an important skill for nurses to develop; they need to continually evaluate
the effectiveness of their care. Be willing to accept and change interventions that are not being
successful. Critical thinking allows the nurse to prioritize evolving situations, make adjustments,
and stay calm when its stressful. If the nurse can critically think they will be able to visualize,
interpret, and adapt answers to new problems based on previous struggles. The Critical
Thinking Community (n.d.) defines critical thinking as the intellectually disciplined process of
actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating
information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or
communication, as a guide to belief and action.
Clinical Judgment
Clinical judgment is a skill set that comes with time and experience. One way Dixie State
University gives its students exposure to clinical judgment is through simulations. We are given
a pass off report for the patient then its our responsibility to do an assessment and take care of
the simulated patient throughout the scenario. This allows us a safe environment to take the
lead on patient care, use the nursing process and critically think through particular
circumstances. Its amazing to see how my clinical judgment skills improve with each exposure
to the simulated patient. I have been able to apply the lessons I learned from the first
simulation to subsequent scenarios. The simulation experience gives us a foundation that we
can build from, apply new concepts, and work through new situations.
Conclusion
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The nursing process is a preparatory point for all nurses. It uses a systematic approach
that involves five steps known as ADPIE, which allow the nurse to gather information, plan care,
and evaluate whether the interventions led to an improvement in the patients condition. The
nursing process is a key procedure that aides in the progression of the nurses ability to improve
their critical thinking skills and clinical judgment.Clinical judgment is a lot like Critical thinking
when you look at the fact that both of them involve a great deal of time, exposure, and
experience. If you are able to do one of those tasks proficiently the others should come with
time, they complement each other and build together.














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References
The critical thinking community.(n.d.). Retrieved from
https://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/defining-critical-thinking/766
Huckabay, L.M., RN, PNP,PhD., F.A.A.N. (2009). Clinical reasoned judgment and the nursing
process.Nursing Forum, 44(2), 72-78. Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com/docview/195019419?accountid=27045
The nursing process.(n.d.). Retrieved from
http://www.nursingworld.org/EspeciallyForYou/What-is-Nursing/Tools-You-
Need/Thenursingprocess.html