Chapter 12: Critical Thinking in Nursing Practice Potter et al: Canadian Fundamentals of Nursing, 6th Edition ALL ANSWERS 100% CORRECT GUARANTEED GRADE A+

1. Critical thinking characteristics include which of the following? a. Considering what is important in a given situation. b. Accepting one, established way to provide patient care. c. Making decisions based on intuition. d. Being able to read and follow prescriber orders. ANS: A Critical thinking involves being able to decipher what is relevant and important in a given situation and to make a clinical decision on the basis of that importance. Patient care can be provided in many ways, not just one. Clinical decisions should be based on evidence and research. Following prescriber orders is not considered a critical thinking skill. DIF: Remember REF: 174| 175 OBJ: Describe characteristics of a critical thinker. TOP: Assessment MSC: NCLEX: Safe and Effective Care Environment 2. Which of these patient scenarios is most indicative of critical thinking? a. Administering pain relief medication according to what was given last shift. b. Asking a patient what pain relief methods, pharmacological and nonpharmacological, have worked in the past. c. Offering pain relief medication based on prescriber orders. d. Explaining to the patientNthatRhisIrepGortsBo.f sCeveMre pain are not consistent with the minor procedure that was pUerfoSrmeNd. T O ANS: B Asking the patient what pain relief methods have worked in the past is an example of exploring many options for pain relief. Administering medication on the basis of a previous assessment is not practising according to standards of care. The nurse is to assess a patient during each shift and intervene accordingly. Nonpharmacological pain relief methods are available, as are medications for pain. Pain is subjective; the nurse should offer pain relief methods on the basis of the patient’s reports without being judgemental. DIF: Apply REF: 174| 175 OBJ: Describe characteristics of a critical thinker. TOP: Assessment MSC: NCLEX: Safe and Effective Care Environment 3. Professional nurses are responsible for making clinical decisions in order to do what? a. Prove traditional methods of providing nursing care to patients. b. Take immediate action when a patient’s condition worsens. c. Apply clear textbook solutions to patients’ problems. d. Formulate standardized care plans for groups of patients. ANS: B Professional nurses are responsible for making clinical decisions to take immediate action when a patient’s condition worsens. Patient care should be based on evidence-informedpractice, not on tradition. Clear textbook solutions to patient problems are not always available. Care plans should be individualized. DIF: Understand REF: 176| 177| 180 OBJ: Discuss the nurse’s responsibility in making clinical decisions. TOP: Implementation MSC: NCLEX: Safe and Effective Care Environment 4. The nurse needs a reminder of professional responsibility when performing which of these actions? a. Making an informed clinical decision. b. Making an ethical clinical decision. c. Making a clinical decision in the patient’s best interest. d. Making a clinical decision based on previous shift assessments. ANS: D The professional nurse is responsible for assessing patients each shift. Making informed, ethical decisions in the patient’s best interest is practising responsibly. DIF: Understand REF: 180| 181 OBJ: Discuss the nurse’s responsibility in making clinical decisions. TOP: Evaluate MSC: NCLEX: Safe and Effective Care Environment 5. Which of the following demonstrates a nurse utilizing self-reflection to improve clinical decision making? a. Using an objective approach in all situations. b. Obtaining data in an orderly manner. c. Improving a plan of care while thinking back on interventions performed. d. Providing evidence-informed explanations for all nursing interventions. ANS: C In self-reflection, the nurse utilizes critical thinking in evaluating the effectiveness of interventions and how they were performed. The other options do represent good nursing practice but are not the best examples of self-reflection. Using an objective approach and obtaining data in an orderly manner does not involve purposefully thinking back to discover the meaning or purpose of a situation. Providing evidence-informed explanations for nursing interventions does not always involve thinking back to discover the meaning of a situation. DIF: Understand REF: 182| 183 OBJ: Discuss critical thinking competencies used in nursing practice. TOP: Evaluate MSC: NCLEX: Safe and Effective Care Environment 6. A nursing instructor needs to evaluate students’ abilities to synthesize data and identify relationships between nursing diagnoses. Which learning assignment is best suited for this instructor’s needs? a. Concept mapping. b. Reflective journalling. c. Reading assignment with a written summary. d. Lecture and discussion. ANS: A Concept maps challenge the student to synthesize data and identify relationships between nursing diagnoses. Reflective journalling involves thinking back to clarify concepts. Reading assignments and lecture do not best provide an instructor the ability to evaluate students’ abilities to synthesize data.DIF: Understand REF: 182| 183 OBJ: Discuss how concept maps can improve a nurse's ability to think critically. TOP: Implementation MSC: NCLEX: Safe and Effective Care Environment 7. What is the first component of the critical thinking model for clinical decision making? a. Experience. b. Nursing process. c. Attitude. d. A scientific knowledge base. ANS: D A scientific knowledge base is the first component of clinical decision making. After acquiring a sound knowledge base, the nurse can then apply the knowledge to different clinical situations and use the nursing process to gain valuable experience. A critical thinking attitude is a guideline for how to approach a problem and apply knowledge to make a clinical decision. DIF: Remember REF: 177 (Box 12-2) OBJ: Describe the components of a critical thinking model for clinical decision making. TOP: Implementation MSC: NCLEX: Safe and Effective Care Environment 8. A new graduate nurse will make the best clinical decisions by applying the components of the nursing critical thinking model and which of the following? a. Drawing on past clinical experiences to formulate standardized care plans. b. Relying on recall of information from past lectures and textbooks. c. Depending on the charge nurse to determine priorities of care. d. Using the nursing procesN ANS: D Using the nursing process along with applying components of the nursing critical thinking model will help the new graduate nurse make the most appropriate clinical decisions. Care plans should be individualized, and recalling facts is not a use of critical thinking skills to make clinical decisions. The new nurse should not rely on the charge nurse to determine priorities of care. DIF: Apply REF: 181 OBJ: Describe the components of a critical thinking model for clinical decision making. TOP: Implementation MSC: NCLEX: Safe and Effective Care Environment 9. The critical thinking skill of evaluation in nursing practice can be best described as which of the following? a. Examining the meaning of data. b. Reviewing the effectiveness of nursing actions. c. Supporting findings and conclusions. d. Searching for links between data and the nurse’s assumptions. ANS: B Reviewing the effectiveness of interventions best describes evaluation. Examining the meaning of data is a form of inference. Supporting findings and conclusions is a way of providing explanations. Searching for links between the data and the nurse’s assumptions