02 May P1 AND P2
Kristina Sayler
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Critical Thinking
Critical thinking is a concept that has been taught to nurses when starting nursing school and is encouraged to use throughout their careers. However, learning to be a critical thinker, and using those skills to become a proficient nurse can be difficult for some, and usually takes years to develop fully. Critical thinking, as defined by Walden University, “… forces individuals to acknowledge their assumptions and biases … gather information; evaluate that information; and then form an answer” (Walden University Writing Center, 2010). This is what can make it difficult for some to develop, as it requires logical reasoning to solve a problem, rather than gut feelings, or making decisions based on personal opinions or biases.
Critical thinking is found in the nursing profession daily. Most nurses develop this skill over time as they gain knowledge and experience. As Patricia Benner suggested, there are levels to learning nursing expertise, starting with the novice nurse, to advanced beginner, to competent, to proficient and finally becoming an expert (Current Nursing, 2011). Critical thinking in the clinical practice could the difference between a novice nurse noting a patient has become short of breath and remembers from their nurse training that elevating the head of bed could be beneficial, but beyond that must ask for advice, call the physician for further instruction or research other ways to relieve the symptom. A nurse with experience and excellent critical thinking skills would also know to raise the head of the bed, but to also check if oxygen has been ordered, if so, placing this on the patient, or obtaining orders if not available and obtaining an oxygen saturation. The nurse may also remember reading about the effectiveness of circulating air via a fan to help relieve shortness of breath and turn a fan on, as well as utilizing breathing techniques they’ve used with past patient’s that have helped them relax and steady their breathing.
One must be aware of the concept of critical thinking and can learn from their experiences and use this to sharpen their skills as a nurse. Kaminiski (2010) suggests for a nurse to become an expert indeed, and fully develop the critical thinking skills they must possess the traits of deliberate practice and taking risks. Deliberate practice is the trait of someone who wants to become an expert in their field, and willingly and knowingly engages in ways to improve their performance over and over until they reach the expert level. They are not afraid to confront challenges in hopes of it making them better at what they do. Taking risks is a similar concept, one cannot become an expert if they do not take some perceived risks (Kaminiski, 2010). This is how I employ critical thinking strategies to improve my clinical competencies. I’ve always understood the importance of continued education in health care, and I enjoy keeping my knowledge up-to-date in my area of work, which is hospice and end-of-life. I’ve also gained a lot of experience and knowledge in what to do for someone who is having symptoms at end-of-life through the work that I’ve done, the different medications and interventions I’ve used to ensure my patients are comfortable. I look back on techniques that have worked well for me in the past, I consider the type of terminal illness the person has, and how symptoms related to that are best relieved, as well as taking in new knowledge and information as it presents itself to me.
I firmly believe that a nurse cannot truly become an expert in their field with the development of critical thinking skills, and the traits that make them want to be one of the best at what they do. This also ties in with one’s desire to continue their education, whether that is formal with higher education, or by researching and being aware of new practices and evidence-based research as they come out. The desire of wanting to know what best practices goes hand-in-hand with critical thinking ability, which ultimately affects their practice. To achieve expertise in nursing, the nurse must work their way through the levels, and this can only be done with proper critical thinking skills.
References
Current Nursing. (2011). Nursing theories: A companion to nursing theories and models: From novice to expert. Retrieved from http://currentnursing.com/nursing_theory/Patricia_Benner_From_Novice_to_Expert.html
Kaminiski, J. (2010). Theory applied to informatics – Novice to expert. Canadian Journal of Nursing Informatics, 5(4). Retrieved from http://cjni.net/journal/?p=967
Walden University Writing Center. (2010). What is critical thinking? Retrieved from http://writingcenter.waldenu.edu/Documents/Scholarly-Writing/Critical_Thinking_(Final).pdf
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