Nursing Decision Making: Analyzing Theories at Flinders University

This essay examines the core theories underpinning nursing decision-making: information processing theory, social judgment theory, and intuition. It explores how nurses utilize these frameworks to assess patient situations, gather information, and make crucial clinical judgments. The essay delves into the importance of information gathering, cultural sensitivity, and cognitive skills in the context of information processing. It further analyzes the role of social judgment in assessing patient conditions and ethical considerations. Finally, it emphasizes the significance of intuitive abilities in swift decision-making and providing quality healthcare. The essay highlights the application of these theories within the context of Flinders University, Renmark campus, and underscores their importance in professional nursing practice.

Running head: NURSING DECESION MAKING
Nursing Decision Making
Name of the Student : Manpreet Gill
Name of the University : Flinders University (Renmark campus)
Student number : 2163031

1NURSING DECESION MAKING
Table of Contents
Introduction.....................................................................................................2
Information processing theory.........................................................................3
Social Judgment theory....................................................................................4
Intuition...........................................................................................................7
Comparison of the three Theories...................................................................9
Conclusion.....................................................................................................10
Reference......................................................................................................12
Marking
rubric………………………………………………………………………………………………
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2NURSING DECESION MAKING
Introduction
Implementing clinical decision and judgments making is an essential
element of professional nursing practice. The effectiveness of decision
making under crisis can help to evaluate upon the quality of nursing and
health care service that is being provided to the clients. The quality of the
decision making totally depends on the ability to gather maximum volume of
information from the medical background of the patient (Boyko, Carter and
Bryant‐Lukosius 2016). It is highly important for a professional nurse to
evaluate the situation before implementing any final decision properly.
Professional nurse also needs to be aware of the consequence of every
clinical decision that is being applied.
The current study will analyze essential decision making models that
are used in the nursing practice. The focus will be mainly on three theories
including information processing theory, social judgments theory and
intuition. The above mentioned theories will be implemented depending on
the situation within the nursing practices. It will also help the professional
nurses to make most use of the given situation. All the above mentioned
three theories focus upon acting according to the demand of the situation.
The decision making process is being involved within the nurse uses a
certain frameworks that is implemented on the basis of the patient situation
(Boyko, Carter and Bryant‐Lukosius 2016).
The professional nurses are more often regarded as the key decision
maker within the Healthcare team. This is due to the fact that they are able

3NURSING DECESION MAKING
to utilize among their experience in Healthcare service to provide the best
evidence practice. The intuitive ability is being used by the nurse in order to
generate the decision making process (Bradshaw and Hultquist 2016).
Information processing theory
As mentioned by Ford (2017), advanced levels of information are
highly crucial in the context of making essential nursing decisions. The
information processing theory in nursing decision making determines the
pattern of how the nurses responds under certain situation in clinical care. As
the nurse is better able to interpret any given situation, by detailed
information gathering, it is possible to establish better communication with
the patient. The steps in the information processing involve the ways that
are needed in the cognitive process of decision making (Moyle et al. 2015).
The nurse is therefore able to act according to the existing social situation
and background of the patients. According to Ronquillo et al. (2016), it is also
essential for the professional nurses to gather detailed information about the
cultural background of a patient. This process can help in establishing
effective relationship with the patient.
Moyle et al. (2015) have added that useful implementing information
processing theory can help in developing mental ability of an individual and
thereby help them to deal with Complex situations. In case of a professional
nurse, using advanced information theory can help them to implement Swift
action during the emergency period of Healthcare service. Advanced forms

4NURSING DECESION MAKING
of technology are needed to make advanced usages of the information
processing techniques. The information communication technology is being
used in the given process to store and interpret the advanced forms of
nursing information. This can be used for future reference purpose, where
the professional nurses are able to quickly interpret any given critical
situation (Mishra et al. 2015). It is also ensure that the nurses are aware about
any given critical situation, in advanced and therefore are able to take swift
decisions.
Gardner, Boyer and Gray (2015), have argued upon the fact that
through information processing it may not be possible to gain knowledge
about the exact situation of clinical experience. This is mainly because of the
fact that it in certain situations the patient may not be able to communicate
properly with the attending nurse, thereby resulting in false information
being provided to the medical practitioners. On the other hand, the evidence
supplied by Josephsen (2015), has suggested that information processing
theory framework can help to develop the cognitive skills of a professional
nurse. As the cognitive skills are developed, the nurses are better able to
make use of any given situation. As the nurses are better able to gather and
interpret detailed information, it is possible to reduce the risks of errors that
occur due to improper decision making process (Tiffen et al 2014).
Social Judgment theory

5NURSING DECESION MAKING
As clinical information is gathered by professional nurse, the ultimate
ability to take an effective decision depends upon their judgmental
capability. According to Shaban (2015), the social judgments theory
implementation process involves using a fixed framework. The ability to
generate essential knowledge about the medical background of a patient
depends upon the quality of Information and judgmental capability applied
by a professional nurse.
Johansen and O'brien (2016) have added that using of social
judgments theory of nursing practice is considered to be an essential
element of legal medical practice. For medical practitioners, assessing the
condition of the community is highly essential in order to make the optimized
use of medical resources along with the information that is being gained. The
wide variation in the process of clinical practice is entirely dependent upon
the outcome of social judgmental theories. As practical evidence has been
generated, it is possible to conclude up on the importance of social
judgmental capability. It is also important to note that the Diagnostic
judgments need to be highly accurate from the professional nurse in order to
provide better quality of Healthcare service. According to Logan (2015), it is
essential for the professional nurse to take and process proper statistical
information about the medical record of an individual. The ability to make
use of advanced information as a part of the cognitive skills is needed to
understand the importance of judgmental capability of the nurse.

6NURSING DECESION MAKING
There are some forms of clinical information that are misinterpreted
thereby leading to the risk of inaccurate judgmental decisions. The quality of
the decision making also determines the ability to judge the people
according to their capability. There are advanced forms of decision makings
that involves taking proper consent from the patients in the form of their
feedbacks (Thompson et al. 2005).The real time information that are
collected from the patients can help in identifying the strengths and
weakness of the particular patients. The advanced forms of information
gathered from the patients are needed to understand their life course
perspective. This perspective can be used in the development of the
frameworks that is implemented as a part of the social judgmental theory
(Dowding et al. 2016).
Thompson et al. (2005) have mentioned about the importance of
combining elements of cognitive sense along with clinical judgmental state
that is needed to increase the accuracy of the clinical Decision Process.
Additionally, essential clues also need to be included in the given elements
that can minimize the risk factor that is involved in every advanced medical
treatment process. The accuracy of every clinical judgment, therefore,
depends upon their ability to process cognitive and physical information that
is gathered from Medical record of a patient. There are also high chances of
disagreement between the judgments implemented by professional nurse,
along with that of the choice of clients. With effective nursing communication

7NURSING DECESION MAKING
and implementation of social judgments, it is possible to resolve the minor
disagreements that can occur in a given situation.
Matney, Avant and Staggers (2016), have mentioned that one of the
major drawbacks of the social judgments theory is related to the ethical
issues that are frequently encountered by the professional nurses. From the
practical evidence cases it is clear that in many places, the nurses are not
able to properly inform the client party about the treatment procedures that
are being implemented within the patient.
Nevertheless, the importance of medical judgments can be mentioned
in the given context, which is implemented in situations of uncertainty that
are caused due to errors in medical information. With the help of the element
in social judgments theory in nursing practice it is possible for the medical
practitioners to collect detailed information about the latest Medical
Research. This can later be used in developing Healthcare tools for further
critical cases. The diagnostic judgments capability of the medical practitioner
will also be enhanced due to the fact that most of the cases they will be able
to deal with wide range of medical information. This can significantly help to
reduce the risk of inaccurate clinical judgmental decisions. With high level of
accuracy in clinical judgments, it will be possible to enhance the quality of
the nursing decision making process.
According to Standing (2017), it is essential to understand the
elements and framework of social judgments theory that needs to be
incorporated into the nursing practice. This Framework Highway need to be

8NURSING DECESION MAKING
included in the educational system of nursing training practice as it can help
in developing the cognitive skills that are required by professional nurse. The
contemporary system of nursing education practice highly focuses on
implementing effective decisions during emergency situation of Healthcare
service. It is also important for a professional Healthcare service provider to
properly assess each intervention cases. This can be quite useful to deal with
new challenges that arise in the Healthcare sector. The ethical issues also
needed to be addressed depending on the ability of the nurse to understand
the negative consequences of the given situation and the judgment that are
passed according to the same (Lewin et al. 2015).
Additional benefits of the social judgments theory in nursing practice
include effective measurement of the recovery time and process. This
measurement can help to enhance the nursing educational intervention
process. Nevertheless, additional research processes are required in order to
collect more data related to social judgments theory and the intervention
process applied for the same. Proper validation approach also needs to be
implemented by the nursing educator, which will help in enhancing the
overall nursing education system (Lewin et al. 2015).
Intuition
As information is being collected from every clinical situation to pass
on the social judgments and clinical decision making process, it is up to the
intuition capability of every individual, which can help them in providing the
best Healthcare services. According to Price et al. (2017), the overall quality

9NURSING DECESION MAKING
of a professional nurse can be determined by the ability to immediately
respond to a situation mostly depending on their intuition ability. It is
important for every professional experience nurse to have the intuitive
ability that is developed through critical thinking process and applied in daily
health care service practice. This will help them to implement essential
decisions of the nurses with minimal information on the given situation. The
ability of the same depends on the intuitive capability of the nurse that is
their capability to better understand the future of the patient care condition
(Holm and Severinsson 2016).
It is important to note that different elements of professional nursing
practice have been inherited from other professional domains that focus
mainly upon swift decision making process using psychological thinking
process. According to Hams (2000), one of the major advantages of using
intuition capability of a professional nurse is their ability to take extra
initiative for patient and providing quality Healthcare service to the society.
This is due to the fact that optimized utilization of the available information
is done. With new form of challenges that are faced by the Healthcare
community due to increasing number of chronic diseases, it has been a
major challenge for all Healthcare workers to meet up with the demand of
the society. In most cases the patients are not able to receive proper timely
Healthcare facility due to lack of professional capability of the Healthcare
workers. Nevertheless, with the help of intuition capability it is possible for all
professional nurses and Healthcare workers to properly diagnose the exact

10NURSING DECESION MAKING
condition of a patient. However, it is also important to consider the fact that
rational decision making that need to be the major outcome of the intuitive
ability of every clinical nurse. This can be enhanced by including the intuition
element within the nursing education system. It will therefore be possible to
develop upon the precognitive psychological improvement of a nurse (Roberts
2015).
In many cases of evidence based nursing practice the element of
intuition has been eliminated due to the risk of ethical issues that can arise
due to poor judgmental capability (Sadler-Smith 2016). According to Robert,
Tilley and Petersen (2014), there are several travel studies that have been
conducted in clinical situation to understand the importance of intuitive
decision making ability of a professional nurse.
The major drawback that can be considered as a part of the intuitive
decision making capability of a nurse is mainly due to the complex nature.
There are several multi dimensional abstract concepts that are associated
with intuitive decision making capability of a professional nurse. The
quantitative areas of clinical nursing practice often include high level of
challenges. The ultimate goal of intuition capability of nursing practice
includes assessing the situation and implementing effective decision that are
mainly aimed to Rapid improvement of a patient condition (Holm and
Severinsson 2016).
There are additional negative aspects of intuitive nursing decision
making system that include implementing judgments without properly

11NURSING DECESION MAKING
assessing the exact situation. This can therefore increase the risk of medical
errors that can worsen the situation of an individual patient (Holm and
Severinsson 2016). Nevertheless, several items are being made in order to
reinforcing the element of intuition in nursing education practice. Most of the
initiative include providing advanced level of information in junior nursing
practice, enable them to swiftly adapt with the high level of challenges that
are encountered in professional Health Care Centre. It is also essential for
every professional nurse to collaborate with stakeholders of psychological
education that can help them to overcome the complexities of cognitive skill
behavior. It will enable them to minimize the chance of human errors that
can often occur during emergency crisis situation of health care services
(Melin‐Johansson, Palmqvist and Rönnberg 2017).
Comparison of the three Theories
All the three above mentioned theories that have been described
consist of issues that are directly related with that of the nursing decision
making capability. The professional capability of a nurse is highly dependent
on the components that they use in the process of professional decision
making. As per mentioned in the work of Banning (2008), detailed medical
information are the primary components that are required for the purpose of
decision making. The quality of clinical judgment is highly dependent upon
the level of information that is being processed (Majid et al. 2011). The

12NURSING DECESION MAKING
situation is suppose to provide the best possible solution that needs to
judged in the context of the quality of healthcare service available to the
community. With the help of this evidence, it is possible to directly link the
elements of information processing theory with that of the social judgmental
theory.
The elaborate levels of methodology is required to deal with the issues
related with that of the difficult levels of issues that are required for the
decision making purpose. It is also important to mention that effective
clinical decisions and judgment is highly dependent upon the quality of
information that is being used. Additionally, the quality of information that is
generated is dependent of the intuitive ability of the individual nurse. This is
however, one of the acquired skills that are generated with higher levels of
professional nursing experience.
Hence, the intuition ability of the nurse forms the primary component
of the nursing decision making (Cork 2014). The intuition ability of the nurse
can strongly influence upon the decision making process. According to
Shaban (2015), the hypothesis of the decision making process is considered
as one of the crucial components that can help to process the advanced
levels of data. This can thereby help the nurses to deal with new forms of
challenges that require unique approaching forms. Communication is also
one of the major contemporary issues within the nursing practice.
Nevertheless, with the help of the components of intuition, it is possible to
gain advanced forms of practical information. This can help the professional

13NURSING DECESION MAKING
nurse to gain high confidence levels that are needed to gain the trust of the
client groups. Effective observation capability can be regarded as one of the
major skills of the professional nurse. This can only be enhanced with the
assistance of their intuitive capability.
Conclusion
In the concluding note of the study, it can be said that the skills and
level of expertise of a professional nurse can be determined by their ability
to make effective decisions. This can help in the matters of extracting
advanced levels of information from the evidence based practice in different
clinical set ups. The study has focused upon three major theories all of them
have focused on the components of gathering essential information.
The primary element of gathering essential information is dependent
on the ability to interpret the same that is needed to incorporate the intuition
capability of a nurse. It is also important to note that the ability to process
information and implement judgment is highly dependent upon the intuitive
capability of nurse. The advanced level of information that is used as a part
of the nursing practice needs to be evaluated and processes. This can be
used by the clinical nurses to understand the medical background of a
patient. The communication capability of a nurse has high levels of impact
upon the level of information that is extracted.
The social judgmental capability of the professional nurse is dependent
upon their capability to determine the future clinical condition after each

14NURSING DECESION MAKING
essential decision is being implemented. This theory is directly linked with
the components of medical judgments that are being implemented
depending upon a given situation. The implementation of the social
judgment is also the ability of the nurse to enhance their cognitive skills.
The major drawback that is related with most of the decision making
ability of the professional nurse is directly linked with the ethical issues. As
complex levels of information are being used, there are high chances of
medical errors, thereby compromising the quality of medical services. As
three of the theories are compared, the intuition is believed to be the main
elements of decision making.

15NURSING DECESION MAKING
Reference
Banning, M., 2008. A review of clinical decision making: models and current
research. Journal of clinical nursing, 17(2), pp.187-195.
Boyko, J.A., Carter, N. and& Bryant‐Lukosius, D., 2016. Assessing the spread
and uptake of a framework for introducing and evaluating advanced practice
nursing roles. Worldviews on Evidence‐Based Nursing, 13(4), pp.277-284.
Bradshaw, M. and Hultquist, B.L., 2016. Innovative teaching strategies in
nursing and related health professions. Jones & Bartlett Publishers.
Cork, L.L., 2014. Nursing intuition as an assessment tool in predicting severity of injury in
trauma patients. Journal of Trauma Nursing, 21(5), pp.244-252.
Dowding, D., Lichtner, V., Allcock, N., Briggs, M., James, K., Keady, J., Lasrado, R., Sampson,
E.L., Swarbrick, C. and Closs, S.J., 2016. Using sense-making theory to aid understanding of the
recognition, assessment and management of pain in patients with dementia in acute hospital
settings. International journal of nursing studies, 53, pp.152-162.
Ford, J.D., 2017. Treatment implications of altered affect regulation and
information processing following child maltreatment. Psychiatric Annals,
35(5), pp.410-419.
Gardner, J.W., Boyer, K.K. and Gray, J.V., 2015. Operational and strategic
information processing: Complementing healthcare IT infrastructure. Journal
of Operations Management, 33, pp.123-139.
Hams, S.P., 2000. A gut feeling? Intuition and critical care nursing. Intensive
and Critical Care Nursing, 16(5), pp.310-318.

16NURSING DECESION MAKING
Holm, A.L. and Severinsson, E., 2016. A Systematic Review of Intuition—A Way of Knowing
in Clinical Nursing?. Open Journal of Nursing, 6(05), p.412.
Johansen, M.L. and O'brien, J.L., 2016, January. Decision making in nursing
practice: a concept analysis. In Nursing forum (Vol. 51, No. 1, pp. 40-48).
Josephsen, J., 2015. Cognitive load theory and nursing simulation: An
integrative review. Clinical Simulation in Nursing, 11(5), pp.259-267.
Lewin, S., Glenton, C., Munthe-Kaas, H., Carlsen, B., Colvin, C.J., Gülmezoglu, M., Noyes, J.,
Booth, A., Garside, R. and Rashidian, A., 2015. Using qualitative evidence in decision making
for health and social interventions: an approach to assess confidence in findings from qualitative
evidence syntheses (GRADE-CERQual). PLoS Medicine, 12(10), p.e1001895.
Logan, G., 2015. Clinical judgment and decision-making in wound
assessment and management: is experience enough?. British journal of
community nursing, 20(Sup3), pp.S21-S28.
Majid, S., Foo, S., Luyt, B., Zhang, X., Theng, Y.L., Chang, Y.K. and Mokhtar,
I.A., 2011. Adopting evidence-based practice in clinical decision making:
nurses' perceptions, knowledge, and barriers. Journal of the Medical Library
Association: JMLA, 99(3), p.229.
Matney, S.A., Avant, K. and Staggers, N., 2016. Toward an understanding of
wisdom in nursing. The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 21(1).
Melin‐Johansson, C., Palmqvist, R. and Rönnberg, L., 2017. Clinical intuition in
the nursing process and decision‐making–A mixed studies review. Journal of
clinical nursing.

17NURSING DECESION MAKING
Mishra, J., Allen, D. and Pearman, A., 2015. Information seeking, use, and decision making.
Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology, 66(4), pp.662-673.
Moyle, W., Rickard, C.M., Chambers, S.K. and Chaboyer, W., 2015, April. The
partnering with patients model of nursing interventions: A first step to a
practice theory. In Healthcare (Vol. 3, No. 2, pp. 252-262). Multidisciplinary
Digital Publishing Institute.
Price, A., Zulkosky, K., White, K. and Pretz, J., 2017. Accuracy of intuition in
clinical decision‐making among novice clinicians. Journal of advanced
nursing, 73(5), pp.1147-1157.
Robert, R.R., Tilley, D.S. and Petersen, S., 2014. A power in clinical nursing
practice: concept analysis on nursing intuition. Medsurg Nursing, 23(5),
pp.343-350.
Roberts, W., 2015. Clinical intuition: how paramedics make decisions, is experience always
best? A case presentation. Journal of Paramedic Practice, 7(1), pp.38-41.
Ronquillo, C., Currie, L.M. and Rodney, P., 2016. The evolution of data-
information-knowledge-wisdom in nursing informatics. Advances in nursing
science, 39(1), pp.E1-E18.
Sadler-Smith, E., 2016. The role of intuition in entrepreneurship and business venturing
decisions. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 25(2), pp.212-225.
Shaban, R., 2015. Theories of clinical judgment and decision-making: a
review of the theoretical literature. Australasian Journal of Paramedicine,
3(1).

18NURSING DECESION MAKING
Shaban, R., 2015. Theories of clinical judgment and decision-making: a
review of the theoretical literature. Australasian Journal of Paramedicine,
3(1).
Standing, M., 2017. Clinical Judgement and Decision Making in Nursing.
Learning Matters.
Thompson, C.A., Foster, A., Cole, I. and Dowding, D.W., 2005. Using social
judgement theory to model nurses’ use of clinical information in critical care
education. Nurse Education Today, 25(1), pp.68-77.
Tiffen, J., Corbridge, S.J. and Slimmer, L., 2014. Enhancing clinical decision making:
development of a contiguous definition and conceptual framework. Journal of Professional
Nursing, 30(5), pp.399-405.

19NURSING DECESION MAKING
MARKING GUIDE 2018
NURS3002 – Assignment 2: Decision making in Practice – theories,
models and application to practice
Student Name: Manpreet gill Student ID:2163031 Submission Due
Date:23/03/2018 Date Submitted:23/03/2018
Assessmen
t criteria
Excellent Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactory
Demonstrates
complete or
considerable
understanding of
decision making in
practice. All
requirements of
assessment are
included.
Demonstrates partial
understanding of
decision making in
practice. Most
requirements of
assessment are
included.
Demonstrates
partial
understanding
of decision
making in
practice. Some
requirements
of assessment
are included.
Demonstrates
little or no
understanding of
decision making
in practice.
Many
requirements
of assessment
are missing.
Introductio
n (10%) Excellent 9 – 10 Good 7 - 8 Satisfactory Unsatisfactory

20NURSING DECESION MAKING
5 - 6 0 - 4 or less
. A clear concise and
relevant title is
included at the top
of the essay
The introduction
states clearly the
topic of the essay
and outlines all the
main points to be
discussed
The introductory
paragraph focuses
the reader attention
by including a
strong statement, a
relevant quotation,
or question
addressing the key
message.
The remainder of
the essay follows
the outline included
in the introduction.
A relevant title is
included at the top of
the essay
The introduction
states the topic of
the essay and
outlines most of
main points to be
discussed
The introductory
paragraph includes a
relevant quotation,
or question
addressing the key
message.
The remainder of the
essay follows most of
the outline included
in the introduction.
A title is
included at the
top of the
essay that
lacks
relevance,
clarity and/or
conciseness.
The
introduction is
interesting but
the connection
to the title of
the essay is not
clear
The
introductory
paragraph
includes a
relevant
quotation, or
question
addressing the
key message.
The remainder
of the essay
follows most of
the outline
included in the
introduction.
No title is
included at the
top of the essay
The introductory
paragraph is not
relevant to the
topic.
The introduction
does not state
the topic and/or
does not outline
what will be
discussed in the
essay.
The remainder
of the essay
bears no
connection to
the introduction.
Knowledge
(20%) Excellent 17 – 20 Good 14 -16 Satisfactory
10 - 13
Unsatisfactory
0 - 9 or less
Exceptional
identification of
three decision
making theories
relevant to nursing
practice.
Excellent discussion
of the literature.
Clear identification of
three decision
making theories
relevant to nursing
practice.
Very good discussion
of the literature.
Appropriate use of
Identification of
two or less
decision
making
theories
relevant to
nursing
practice.
No decision
making theories
relevant to
nursing practice
identified
Little or no
discussion of the
literature. Mostly

21NURSING DECESION MAKING
Appropriate use of
relevant literature
Outstanding
understanding of
the breadth of
research, literature
or best practice
guidelines.
Insightful and
comprehensive use
of knowledge to
think critically and
logically.
relevant literature
Evident
understanding of the
breadth of research,
literature or best
practice guidelines.
Wide use of
knowledge to think
critically and
logically.
Some
discussion of
the literature,
includes use of
some irrelevant
literature
Satisfactory
understanding
of the breadth
of research,
literature or
best practice
guidelines.
Minimal use of
knowledge to
think critically
and logically.
irrelevant
literature
included
Poor
understanding of
the breadth of
research,
literature or best
practice
guidelines.
No evidence of
knowledge to
thinkcritically
and logically.
Application
to Practice
(20 %)
Excellent 17 – 20 Good 14 -16 Satisfactory
10 - 13
Unsatisfactory
0 - 9 or less
Excellent discussion
outlining which
theory would be
applied to support
advanced decision
making in practice.
Includes a very
good and relevant
rationale including
examples from
practice to support
the theory chosen.
Exceptional ability
to communicate a
range of ideas and
the relevance to
contemporary
nursing practice
Clearly explains how
ideas are connected
to the chosen
Good discussion
outlining which
theory would be
applied to support
advanced decision
making in practice
Includes a rationale
with connected
examples from
practice to support
the theory chosen.
Includes a range of
ideas, yet the
relevance to
contemporary
nursing practice is at
times questionable.
Mostly explains how
ideas are connected
to the chosen theory
for advanced
Identifies which
theory would
be applied to
support
advanced
decision
making in
practice
Weak rationale
with limited
connecting
examples from
practice to
support the
theory chosen.
Includes a
range of ideas,
with minimal
relevance to
contemporary
nursing
practice
Does not identify
which theory
would be applied
to support
advanced
decision making
in practice
No rationale with
no connecting
examples from
practice
Demonstrates
minimal
relevance to
contemporary
nursing practice
Does not explain
how ideas are
connected to the
chosen theory
for advanced

22NURSING DECESION MAKING
theory for advanced
decision making in
nursing practice.
Transitions between
theory and practice
are connected, with
variety and
creativity to present
an interesting and
thought provoking
piece of work.
decision making in
nursing practice.
Transitions between
theory and practice
are connected in an
interesting way but
there is little variety
in examples.
demonstrated.
Occasionally
explains how
ideas are
connected to
the chosen
theory for
advanced
decision
making in
nursing
practice.
Transitions
between theory
and practice
are connected
sometimes with
little variety in
examples.
decision making
in nursing
practice.
Transitions
between theory
and practice are
unclear or non-
existent.
Critical
Analysis
(20%)
Excellent 17 – 20 Good 14 -16 Satisfactory
10 - 13
Unsatisfactory
0 - 9 or less
Extensive analysis
and synthesis of
advanced decision
making theories in
nursing practice.
Identifies
complexities,
contradictions and
inconsistencies
between the
theories discussed
and has provided at
least 1 counter-
argument for each.
Includes 10 or more
pieces of relevant
evidence that
support the
Comprehensive
analysis of advanced
decision making
theories in nursing
practice. Little
synthesis.
Identifies
complexities,
contradictions and
inconsistencies
between the theories
discussed, has not
provided a counter-
argument for each.
Includes 7 - 10
pieces of relevant
evidence that
support the analysis.
Satisfactory
analysis of
advanced
decision
making
theories in
nursing
practice. No
synthesis with
some
description
only.
Identifies some
differences and
similarities
between the
theories
discussed, has
not provided
any counter-
No analysis of
advanced
decision making
theories in
nursing practice.
No synthesis.
Description of
the theories
only.
Identifies no
differences
and/or
similarities
between the
theories
described, and
has not provided
any counter-
arguments.

23NURSING DECESION MAKING
analysis.
All of the evidence
and examples are
specific, relevant
and explanations
are given for each
Most of the evidence
and examples are
specific, relevant and
explanations are
given for each
arguments.
Includes 5 - 7
pieces of
relevant
evidence that
support the
analysis.
Some of the
evidence and
examples are
specific,
relevant and
some
explanations
are given
Includes 4 or
fewer pieces of
evidence of
relevant
evidence
None of the
evidence and
examples are
specific, relevant
and no
explanations
given
Conclusion
(10%) Excellent 9 – 10 Good 7 - 8 Satisfactory
5 - 6
Unsatisfactory
0 - 4 or less
The conclusion is
obvious as it
restates the key
message outlined in
the introduction
within the first two
sentences of the
closing paragraph.
Includes an
excellent summary
of all the key points
discussed
throughout the
essay.
There is a clear
statement which
asserts the chosen
theory for decision
making in nursing
practice with a
succinct supporting
rationale.
The conclusion is
clear as it restates
the key message
outlined in the
introduction at some
point
Includes a good
summary of most of
the key points
discussed throughout
the essay.
There is a statement
about the chosen
theory for decision
making in nursing
practice
No new information
is included in the
conclusion
The conclusion
is ambiguous
as it restates
the key
message
outlined in the
introduction
but not clearly
Includes a
summary of
some of the
key points
discussed
throughout the
essay.
There is a
statement
aboutdecision
making in
nursing
practice but
There is no
conclusion - the
paper just ends
Includes no
summary of the
key points
discussed
throughout the
essay.
There is no
statement about
decision making
in nursing
practice or the
chosen theory
as discussed in
the essay.
Bears little or no
relevance to the
remainder of the

24NURSING DECESION MAKING
No new information
is included in the
conclusion
not the chosen
theory as
discussed in
the essay.
Some new
information is
included in the
conclusion
essay
Presentatio
n, structure
and style
(10%)
Excellent 9 – 10 Good 7 - 8 Satisfactory
5 - 6
Unsatisfactory
0 - 4 or less
Essay is correctly
structured with
clearly defined
introduction, body,
conclusion and
reference list.
All ideas transition
from one paragraph
to the other
Discussion is
provided in a
completely logical
order that makes it
easy and interesting
Adheres to word
count with
appropriate balance
throughout the
essay.
Author makes no
errors in
capitalization,
punctuation or
paragraphing, so
the essay is very
easy to read.
Minimal to no
Essay is correctly
structured with an
introduction, body,
conclusion and
reference list.
Only one illogical
statement
throughout essay.
Most ideas transition
from one paragraph
to the other
Discussion is
provided in a fairly
logical order that
makes it possible to
follow the author's
train of thought
Adheres to word
count but more work
needed on the
balance throughout
the essay.
Includes 1-3 errors in
capitalization,
punctuation or
paragraphing, so the
essay is easy to read
Has an
introduction,
body,
conclusion and
reference list
but it not
always clear
where one
ends and
another begins.
Contains the
occasional
illogical
statement
Discussion is
not provided in
a logical order,
distracting the
reader and
making the
essay seem a
little confusing.
Some
problemswith
word count and
the balance
throughout the
essay.
Has no clear
introduction,
body, conclusion
and reference
list
Contains mostly
illogical
statement
There is no
discussion
included, the
theories have
just been
described
throughout the
essay
Word count not
adhered to with
no balance
throughout the
essay.
Includes
frequent errors
in capitalization,
punctuation or
paragraphing, so
the essay is
difficult to read