Clinical Reasoning Cycle for Healthcare Providers and Nurses

Running Head: CLINICAL REASONING CYCLE 1
Clinical reasoning cycle
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CLINICAL REASONING CYCLE 2
Clinical reasoning cycle
Professional nurses and other healthcare providers are required to employ clinical
reasoning daily when it comes to making critical judgments that impact the lives of their
patients. Researchers such as Oostra, Astle & Meyerhoff (2016) and Levett-Jones et al.
(2010) outlined that clinical reasoning is the process by which expert nurses and other
healthcare providers gather signs and symptoms of their patients. Further, they process their
patient’s provided information, comprehend their patient’s ailments, strategize as well as
implement interferences, assess consequences and reflect on and gain a learning lesson from
the process. Additionally, education provided to nurses aims at preparing them to use clinical
reasoning skills when it comes to clinical decision making which leads to the provision of
excellent health care services (Levett-Jones et al., 2010). For instance, according to a report
provided by the Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing (2014) Baccalaureate nursing
education – an education facility established in Canada –is responsible for the provision of
the groundwork for sound clinical reasoning and acute philosophy, clinical conclusions, as
well as robust principled comportment in nursing. Therefore, clinical reasoning can be used a
tool when it comes to providing essential health care within the healthcare systems (Oostra,
Astle, & Meyerhoff, 2016). This means it allows patients to be taken off in their specific
manner while simultaneously concentrating on their individual needs in regards to an
effective healing process. This essay aims at utilizing the application of the eight steps of the
clinical reasoning cycle using the Levett-Jones’ Clinical Reasoning Cycle to discuss as I
simultaneously provide my reflection on a clinical decision in regards to Matthew’s case. The
paper will also discuss applicable Registered Nurse Standards for Practice.
From Matthew’s situation, it is evident that he has two care priorities since he suffers
from fluid and electrolyte imbalance. As established by Levett-Jones et al. (2010) during her
research clinical reasoning cycle is a practice-based form of thinking which necessitates in-

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depth research as well as scientific-based knowledge. Therefore, in the case of Matthew,
professional nurses should have the ability separate the relevant circumstantial knowledge
and abilities as they simultaneously apply them when it comes to providing excellent health
care services. Health care services provided to Matthew should be tailored according to his
distinct ailment, rather than providing a general healthcare treatment that other patients with
related condition in the hospital receive. However, this is a crucial aspect in regards to
clinical reasoning since it requires special skills as well as abilities to identify gaps when it
comes to personal understanding to address the situation (Daly, 2018).
As developed by Levett-Jones et al (2010) and Daly (2018) effective clinical
reasoning process in all healthcare systems should include collection of cues, processing
patient’s facts and data, understanding the patient’s ailment, problem or causes towards
mismanagement of their treatment, scheduling and implementing interventions, evaluating
outcomes as well as learning from the process. According to Cappelletti, Engel & Prentice
(2014), it is common for patients to experience fluid alterations which in most cases it tends
to manifest rapidly leading to fatal consequences especially with the older adults who have
several comorbidities. According to a research conducted by Levett-Jones et al. (2010), the
most integral part of nursing care within the healthcare system for the past few years is
sustaining the subtle fluid as well as the electrolyte equilibrium of post-operative in patients.
In support of Levett-Jones et al. (2010) research Cappelletti, Engel, & Prentice, (2014)
mentioned that fluid imbalances, especially in older patients, often leads to significant
morbidity as well as mortality. Nevertheless, application of effective clinical reasoning when
taking care of these patients enables professional nurses and other healthcare providers to be
aware of as well as manage their patient’s deterioration within the early stages of the
treatment, thus inhibiting any adverse outcomes that may occur to their patients (Keith-Lucas,
2015).

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Matthew’s background.
Recently, Matthew, who is a 72-year-old man was recently diagnosed to be suffering from
colon cancer in a local hospital during my Bachelor of Nursing clinical placement. Matthew
had come to seek medical services at the hospital after noticing rectal bleeding. During his
consultation period with the general practitioner of the hospital, Matthew mentioned that
during the past few days he had started to notice several changes in his bowel habits which
were accompanied by occasional diarrhea. General practitioner’s speculations revealed that
Matthew was anemic while his family history indicated several cases of bowel cancer
(Oxford, 2013). He executed a digital rectal examination on Matthew where he could not
identify any substantial rectal mass thus referring him to a gastroenterologist as he
simultaneously scheduled for a subsequent colonoscopy. However, after the general
practitioner had conducted a colonoscopy, he realized that Matthew was sick from a left-
sided cancer of the colon incorporated with a bowel resection.
Consideration of the patient’s situation
The above diagram or cycle is a representation of the clinical reasoning cycle, where
each stage within the cycle is interconnected to the other. Consideration to the patient’s