Critical Thinking At The Ohio Nurses Association - 1939 Words

Critical thinking used throughout the nation in nursing everyday to protect and treat patients in the most effective way. An example would be if a patient walked in to the hospital with a platelet count of 1, the nurse would know that they have a risk for bleeding and would place them on â€Å"risk for bleeding† protocols. Without critical thinking, the nurse would not know what to do. Critical thinking is a learned skill that every nurse should acquire, not only during his or her education, but also throughout his or her career. Exploring Critical Thinking There is no clear consensus regarding the definition of critical thinking. Definitions of critical thinking are very widespread. Although the definition is not definitive, it is known that†¦show more content†¦Precision is when statements are exact or specific. Relevance is a big element of critical thinking. If a statement is not significant, it can distract from the assessment data that is important. Logic is another component of critical thinking, which involves making sure the conclusion makes sense. Thelma Riddell, MScN, RN, COHN(C) believes there is no singular definition of critical thinking, but rather terms of components involved. Terms such as reflection, inquiry, interpretation and analysis, and reasoning and judgment are all terms that result in a change in belief or course of action. The first step in critical thinking is examining assumptions. This is not a simple task, and is most effective when a nurse uses critical questioning. Critical questioning allows the nurse to development reflective analysis, and encourage them to develop independent habits of critical reflection. Critical questioning must be specific to the event. The next step is reflective thought. During reflective though the nurse is aware of his or her own assumptions and how he or she is influenced by life experiences and culture. This is the key element in gaining critical thinking. Critical thinking was defined as a reasonable reflective thinking focused on deciding what actions to make by Ruth R. Ro bert. Evaluation standards to determine the true worth or value of a statement is very important in critical thinking. If a statement is not valued, it can easily be