Critical Thinking in Nursing Practice Essay

Critical Thinking in the Clinical Setting

Critical thinking relates to the processes of perception, evaluation, and analysis of relevant information. Regarding nursing practice, critical thinking skills involve collecting valid information, distinguishing facts from opinions, evaluating the credibility of information sources, and drawing clinical conclusions. There are specific behaviors that can enable the enhancement of critical thinking. Nursing students should develop “independence of thought, fairness, perspicacity in personal and social level, humility, spiritual courage, integrity, perseverance, self-confidence, interest for research and curiosity” (Papathanasiou, Kleisiaris, Fradelos, Kakou, & Kourkouta, 2014, p. 283). I believe these features could be valuable when resolving everyday problems as well. However, there are different levels of personal and professional responsibility.

In clinical settings, nurses have to apply critical thinking to provide adequate medical treatment to patients. The patients’ lives and well-being often depend on the nurses’ ability to come to sound clinical judgments based on informed opinions and empirical knowledge. When a nurse exercises critical reasoning in his or her ordinary life, the responsibility usually shifts to the well-being of just one person. As for me, I consider my critical thinking skills sufficiently developed to solve my problems quite successfully. At the same time, in a complex clinical environment with various nuances to take into account, I often feel like a novice. Therefore, I firmly believe that my critical reasoning development should be continued further during any activities. As a future health professional, I understand that the outcomes of patient treatment entirely depend on my ability to mobilize the best of my skills.

References

Papathanasiou, I. V., Kleisiaris, C. F., Fradelos, E. C., Kakou, K., & Kourkouta, L. (2014). Critical thinking: The development of an essential skill for nursing students. Acta Informatica Medica, 22(4), 283-286. doi:10.5455/aim.2014.22.283-286

Papp, K. K., Huang, G. C., Lauzon Clabo, L. M., Delva, D., Fischer, M., Konopasek, L.,… Gusic, M. (2014). Milestones of critical thinking: A developmental model for medicine and nursing. Academic Medicine, 89(5), p. 715-720. doi:10.1097/ACM.0000000000000220