Decision Making in Nursing
Nurses make decisions that have life and death implications (Payne, 2015). Nurses must be accountable for their decisions as well as the consequences of those actions (College of Registered Nurses of British Columbia, 2012). Clinical decision making is a complex process that requires the nurse to draw from personal knowledge, client history, previous clinical experience, as well as intuition (Banning, 2008; Benner, 1984; Blum, 2010; Payne, 2015; Tanner, 2006). These decisions impact how efficiently, competently, and satisfactorily the client is treated (Etheridge, 2007). Decision making models have been developed to assist nurses with their critical thinking to ensure safe client care and improve client outcomes (Lauri & Salantera, 1995; Tanner, 2006). Due to the multi-dimensional process that decision making involves, using a framework to organize information, as well as …show more content…
21). The purpose of critical thinking in nursing arises from the complex nature of client care; often the client is unable to articulate the underlying reason of their condition, which will require the nurse to provide a solution with limited information (Coutts, 2014). The rise in patient complexities presents increasing pressure and accountability for nurses to make informed decisions (Coutts, 2014; Lauri & Salantera, 1995). Due to the ambiguous nature of nursing and complex client diagnoses, nurses must apply insightful reasoning, intuition, theoretical knowledge, and previous experiences as their guide to making a decision (Banning, 2008; Blum, 2010; Coutts, 2014; Gillespie & Paterson, 2009; Lauri & Salantera, 1995; Payne, 2015; Tanner,
Nurses make decisions that have life and death implications (Payne, 2015). Nurses must be accountable for their decisions as well as the consequences of those actions (College of Registered Nurses of British Columbia, 2012). Clinical decision making is a complex process that requires the nurse to draw from personal knowledge, client history, previous clinical experience, as well as intuition (Banning, 2008; Benner, 1984; Blum, 2010; Payne, 2015; Tanner, 2006). These decisions impact how efficiently, competently, and satisfactorily the client is treated (Etheridge, 2007). Decision making models have been developed to assist nurses with their critical thinking to ensure safe client care and improve client outcomes (Lauri & Salantera, 1995; Tanner, 2006). Due to the multi-dimensional process that decision making involves, using a framework to organize information, as well as …show more content…
21). The purpose of critical thinking in nursing arises from the complex nature of client care; often the client is unable to articulate the underlying reason of their condition, which will require the nurse to provide a solution with limited information (Coutts, 2014). The rise in patient complexities presents increasing pressure and accountability for nurses to make informed decisions (Coutts, 2014; Lauri & Salantera, 1995). Due to the ambiguous nature of nursing and complex client diagnoses, nurses must apply insightful reasoning, intuition, theoretical knowledge, and previous experiences as their guide to making a decision (Banning, 2008; Blum, 2010; Coutts, 2014; Gillespie & Paterson, 2009; Lauri & Salantera, 1995; Payne, 2015; Tanner,