The Effect of Proper Thinking on Clinical Practice

Running Head: THE EFFECT OF PROPER THINKING ON CLINICAL PRACTICE 1
THE EFFECT OF PROPER THINKING ON CLINICAL PRACTICE
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THE EFFECT OF PROPER THINKING ON CLINICAL PRACTICE 2
The use of Critical Thinking in Clinical Practice
Critical thinking skills make good nurses with expertise in their profession. The skills are
essential because they help nurses make and prioritize significant decisions that can help save
lives. Nurses give twenty-four-hour care to patients; this means that critical and creative thinking
determines life or death for a patient. Furthermore, the skills help in the restructuring of policies
(Ericksen, 2017).
The nurses use the skills to determine and develop practical solutions to problems. In
addition to that, they openly and concisely explain conclusions and give a sound rationale for
answers. Furthermore, the skills help nurses to self-regulate their thinking. Also, they monitor
how they think and reflect on processes that lead to a particular conclusions. Lastly, nurses are
keen on incorrect assumptions and biases (Ericksen, 2017).
The Relationship between Clinical Thinking and Clinical Competence
Critical thinking and creative thinking positively affects proficiency in nursing and
clinical experience. The primary essential skills of thinking applied to patient care in clinical
practice includes interpreting, analyzing and evaluating. Interpreting is a crucial skill that ensures
the nurse understands a particular event in clinical practice (NurseJournal, 2018).
Furthermore, nurses use the skills to analyze situations, which mean they can articulate a
course of action which is subjective and objective. Finally, a nurse in a clinical practice uses the
skills to evaluate information and they can assess the value of information that they have at hand.
Furthermore, the skills support them to determine the relevance, reliability, and credibility of
information (NurseJournal, 2018).