Critical Thinking Scenario

Running head: CRITICAL THINKING 1
Critical Thinking Scenario
Name
Institutional Affiliation

CRITICAL THINKING 2
Introduction
Critical thinking (CT) involves analyzing information rationally to aid in clinical
reasoning, judgment and decision making. It is a cognitive process (Zuriguel, Lluch, Falcó Puig,
Moreno, & Roldán, 2015). It involves thinking of the following: who, what, where, when, why
and how things happen. CT is a competent aspect in education and professional practice. Health
professionals should be able to initiate a self-monitored, directed and corrective thinking process
for better patient care. This is because of the dynamics in health care workplace and the need for
patient centered care like Audrey in relation to evidence based practice. CT is enhances use of
logic to evaluate and comprehend clinical questions in order to have a wider view of patient’s
condition. Zuriguel et al. 2015 explains the importance of CT since it has been adopted by the
National League of Nurses as part of accrediting academic programs. The Joint Commission for
Accreditation for Healthcare Organizations included CT as an important part of nursing skill.
Quality nursing care depends on CT as part of achieving professional and patient satisfaction. It
can be explored during the educational period and professional career. In the professional setting,
CT has a positive impact on the type of care the patient receives. As part of improving the uptake
of CT in the nursing profession, studies targeting the factors that encourage and inhibit the
acquisition of CT should be conducted.
Question 1
Safety
Conducive working environment for the nurses. These include:

CRITICAL THINKING 3
 The right nurse to patient ratio. A reasonable nurse to patient ratio is
associated with good outcome in practice. This eliminates the workload and risk of
burnout
 and stress for the covering nurse. The likelihood of errors are also
eliminates as stress and burnout increase the risk of wrong medication among others
(Zhang et al, 2014). In Audrey’s case, an error in administering the anti-diabetic
medication like metformin may result in either overdose or underdoes. An overdose of
the drug can result into low blood sugar that worsens the patient condition. An under dose
will lead to inadequate glucose control that will further impair the wound healing after
the arthroplasty or the already sustained wounds during her fall.
 Conducive working environment. This includes working equipment and a
well-established nursing shift system. Failure for equipment like blood pressure machines
will compromise Audrey’s blood pressure monitoring, increasing the hypertension risks
more. A longer nursing shift and working overtime will also result in burnout and stress
further increasing risks for errors. (Cho,Chin, Kim, & Hong,2016).
Hygiene and comfort
For Audrey’s hygiene and comfort stay in the hospital to be achieved, the nurses should
be able to satisfy her needs (Feo, & Kitson, 2016) by:
 Routinely do bed making every morning and replacing the dirty linen
Audrey has whenever she soils them. Bed making helps reduce the risk of developing bed
sores for a patient like Audrey who is not likely to ambulate.
 Ensure that Audrey’s room is cleaned by the nurse and any support staff in
the hospital.

CRITICAL THINKING 4
 Changing Audrey’s urinary catheter whenever it gets blocked or dirty to
avoid ascending urinary tract infections.
Nutrition
Audrey’s medical conditions like diabetes, gastroesophagal reflux disease (GORD) and
osteoporosis need good nutrition support (Preiser et al, 2015).The nurses should be able to:
 Monitor Audrey’s blood sugar levels and carbohydrate intake.
 Ensure that Audrey received foods adequate in calcium and phosphate to
aid in bone healing and formation.
 Limit the amount of spices in food being served to Audrey to avoid
worsening the GORD.
 Help the patient take her meals considering her right side weakness due to
stroke she once suffered from.
Elimination
Because of her urinary incontinence, the nurses should drain Audrey’s urinary catheter
whenever full and help her get to the washroom for stool evacuation without discrimination to
avoid stigma. If unable to do so, she should be put on adult diapers for toilet hygiene.
Activity level
Audrey’s activity levels should not be limited. Because of her right side weakness, she
should be given crutches to help her with support. Special guard and support rails should be
included in Audrey’s pathway. If possible, the bathroom and toilet seats should be modified to
the most comfortable positions for use by such an elderly patient.