9 Critical Thinking for Success in Nursing Education

March 3, 2023

To be a successful nurse, you must first learn to communicate with healthcare workers, patient, and their families. Critical thinking is one of the most important skills that nurses must learn seriously, whether they have to take help from UK dissertation writers or some professional person. Possibly, if you are a nurse, you have wondered how to enhance critical thinking in nursing.

The writer of the dissertation help London based service will help you understand what critical thinking in nursing is and why it is important. Additionally, you’ll discover 9 straightforward tips for enhancing critical thinking skills in nursing, as well as model applications of critical thinking in the field of nursing.

What Is Nursing Critical Thinking?

Nurses use critical thinking as a process to address issues relevant to patient care. Because the nursing profession is not about helping others or saving lives, but they are specialized, and they do the job that no other specialists do (Sanford & Prewitt, 2021). It is a necessary process for providing efficient, safe, and skilled nursing care. Critical thinking abilities help nurses influence decisions, which improves their effectiveness and improves patient outcomes.

How Can Nursing Students Improve Their Critical Thinking?

A nurse is not one who takes care of a sick person, but the term nurse is filled with kindness (bestassignmentwriter, 2019). Critical thinking is an essential component of providing effective patient care in nursing. Developing critical thinking skills can be aided by a wide range of books and other resources. Here are 18 quick tips for nurses to sharpen their critical-thinking abilities.

1. Remove personal biases

Everyone develops biases based on their personal experiences. To avoid drawing erroneous conclusions that might have an adverse effect on patient care, nurses must learn to distinguish personal biases from patient interactions. Take a look at how you come to your conclusions and how you think. If you discover a personal bias, work to eliminate it. By doing this, you enable yourself to think more objectively and in a multidimensional manner, which encourages the development of critical thinking abilities.

2. Create a self-reflection routine

Self-reflection is a form of introspection that you can use to consider the events and reactions in your life. Nurses have the chance to learn from their mistakes, accept responsibility for them, and create new behavioral patterns that will help them make better decisions in the future. Self-reflective nurses might jot down their thoughts in a journal or just take some time to reflect on their day and, if anything, what they might have done differently. Critical thinking can be applied in our personal lives and can have an impact on our professional roles by reflecting on our actions and behaviors.

3. Take on leadership roles or opportunities as a volunteer

Leaders must make crucial choices that may have an impact on their teams and patients. By volunteering or requesting leadership positions, you are preparing yourself for real-world situations that call for analytical thinking. Inquire about taking on a leadership role in the project or helping a team member with training if your employer has discussed a new initiative or something they want to complete within the facility. This will help you develop your own skills in critical thinking.

4. Determine your priorities

When caring for multiple patients, nurses frequently work in hectic settings. Nurses need to be aware of the tasks, examinations, and patient concerns that need to be handled each day. Critical thinking measures assist nurses in determining which tasks are more important so that they can plan their day. Nurses must keep in mind that even after creating a preliminary plan or priority checklist, the clinical environment is subject to rapid change.

5. Understand the importance of intellectual humility

One person cannot be expected to be fully informed about a patient, their condition, or their treatment. Nurses who are intellectually humble are willing to acknowledge their ignorance and accept guidance from more knowledgeable colleagues. When nurses acknowledge that what everyone thinks to be the best strategy for patient care may not always be the best approach as new treatments and facts emerge, they exhibit intellectual humility, quality of critical thinking in nursing.

6. Always be a curious person

While critical-thinking nurses may value tradition in their work, they are also at ease questioning those customs to ensure their relevance and importance in patient care presently. Curious nurses ask, “What would happen if we took a different method to wound care?” “Would something else improve patient outcomes more effectively?” or “How does this protocol fit the needs of the patient at this time?”

7. Exercise objectivity

As a nurse, you must be willing to make objective judgments by considering the perspectives of all those involved with patient care. Fair-mindedness entails taking into account the opinions and convictions of the patient, their family, and the multidisciplinary team, as well as making an effort to implement change when better patient outcomes are conceivable.

8. Use the order of commands

You’ll have a chain of commands wherever you work. Nurse managers are responsible for ensuring that patient care is delivered in a timely and efficient manner. They have demonstrated critical thinking skills as well as the ability to provide high-quality patient care. Critical thinking that is patient-centered is shown by the choice to use the chain of command and ask for guidance when necessary.

9. Determine your priorities

Many times, nurses are required to care for multiple patients in hectic settings. Nurses need to be aware of the tasks, examinations, and patient concerns that need to be handled each day. Critical thinking measures assist nurses in determining which tasks are more important so that they can plan their day. Nurses must keep in mind that even after creating a plan or priority checklist, the clinical environment is subject to rapid change.

Wrapping up

Critical thinking is one of the most important skills nurses can learn.  Critical thinking promotes positive outcomes for patients and encourages good communication among patients and their families, and team members. Patient care that is safe and of the highest caliber is made possible by nurses who care enough to inquire about ways to enhance critical thinking in nursing. You can become a more effective nurse, contribute to improved patient outcomes, and foster positive interprofessional relationships by following the 9 straightforward steps outlined in this article on how to improve critical thinking in nursing.

 

Reference list

Sanford, K., & Prewitt, E. (2021). A nurse is not just a nurse: The challenges of nursing during a pandemic and beyond. NEJM Catalyst, 2(4). https://doi.org/10.1056/cat.21.0053

BAW., (2019).  How To Craft The Best Nursing Assignment For Master Student? Online Available at <https://bestassignmentwriter.co.uk/blog/how-to-craft-the-best-nursing-assignment-for-master-student/> [Accessed on 3rd May 2022]

About the Author Kyrie Mattos

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