Chapter 8: Critical Thinking; Key Terms

Question 1

Clinical Decision Making

Answer 1

A problem-solving approach that nurses use to define patient problems and select appropriate treatment

Question 2

Clinical Inference

Answer 2

Process of drawing conclusions from related pieces of evidence and previous experience with the evidence

Question 3

Critical Thinking

Answer 3

The active, purposeful, organized cognitive process used to carefully examine one’s thinking and the thinking of other individuals

Question 4

Decision Making

Answer 4

Process involving critical appraisal of information that results from recognition of a problem and ends with the generation, testing, and evaluation of a conclusion
Comes at the end of critical thinking

Question 5

Diagnostic Reasoning

Answer 5

Process that enables an observer to assign meaning and to classify phenomena in clinical situations by integrating observations and critical thinking

Question 6

Intuition

Answer 6

The inner sensing that something is so

Question 7

Nursing Process

Answer 7

Systematic problem-solving method by which nurses individualize care for each patient. The 5 steps of the nursing process are; assessment, diagnosis, planning, implementation, and evaluation

Question 8

Problem Solving

Answer 8

Methodical, systematic approach to explore conditions and develop solutions, including analysis of data, determination of causative factors, and selection of appropriate actions to reverse or eliminate the problem

Question 9

Reflection

Answer 9

Process of thinking back or recalling an event to discover the meaning and purpose of that event.
Useful in critical thinking

Question 10

Scientific Method

Answer 10

Codified sequence of steps used in the formulation, testing, evaluation, and reporting of scientific ideas

Question 11

Workaround

Answer 11

Patterns and actions that health care staff adopt to bypass either safety steps in procedures or safety features of medical equipment.
Although workarounds may temporarily “fix a problem” the system remains unaltered and thus continues to present potential safety hazards for future patients