CRITICAL THINKING AND
CLINICAL REASONING 9TH
CHAPTER.
A client with diarrhea also has a primary care provider's order for a bulk laxative daily. The
nurse, not realizing that bulk laxatives can help solidify certain types of diarrhea, concludes,
"The primary care provider does not know the client has diarrhea." What type of statement
is this?
a. A fact
b. An inference
c. A judgment
d. An opinion - Ans>>b. An inference
A client reports feeling hungry, but does not eat when food is served. Using clinical
reasoning skills, the nurse should perform which of the following?
a. Assess why the client is not ingesting the food provided.
b. Continue to leave the food at the bedside until the client is hungry enough to eat.
c. Notify the primary care provider that tube feeding may be indicated soon.
d. Believe the client is not really hungry. - Ans>>a. Assess why the client is not ingesting
the food provided.
A client complains of shortness of breath. During assessment the nurse observes that the
client has edema of the left leg only. The nurse reviews evidence-based practice literature
and reflects on a previous client with the same clinical manifestations. What do these
actions represent?
a. Clinical judgment
b. Clinical reasoning
c. Reflection
d. Intuition - Ans>>b. Clinical reasoning
The client who is short of breath benefits from the head of the bed being elevated. Because
this position can result in skin breakdown in the sacral area, the nurse decides to study the
amount of sacral pressure occurring in other positions. What decision-making is the nurse
engaging in?
a. The research method
b. The trial-and-error method
c. Intuition
CLINICAL REASONING 9TH
CHAPTER.
A client with diarrhea also has a primary care provider's order for a bulk laxative daily. The
nurse, not realizing that bulk laxatives can help solidify certain types of diarrhea, concludes,
"The primary care provider does not know the client has diarrhea." What type of statement
is this?
a. A fact
b. An inference
c. A judgment
d. An opinion - Ans>>b. An inference
A client reports feeling hungry, but does not eat when food is served. Using clinical
reasoning skills, the nurse should perform which of the following?
a. Assess why the client is not ingesting the food provided.
b. Continue to leave the food at the bedside until the client is hungry enough to eat.
c. Notify the primary care provider that tube feeding may be indicated soon.
d. Believe the client is not really hungry. - Ans>>a. Assess why the client is not ingesting
the food provided.
A client complains of shortness of breath. During assessment the nurse observes that the
client has edema of the left leg only. The nurse reviews evidence-based practice literature
and reflects on a previous client with the same clinical manifestations. What do these
actions represent?
a. Clinical judgment
b. Clinical reasoning
c. Reflection
d. Intuition - Ans>>b. Clinical reasoning
The client who is short of breath benefits from the head of the bed being elevated. Because
this position can result in skin breakdown in the sacral area, the nurse decides to study the
amount of sacral pressure occurring in other positions. What decision-making is the nurse
engaging in?
a. The research method
b. The trial-and-error method
c. Intuition
