Critical Thinking Nursing

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Critical thinking is a vital component in nursing. Critical thinking in nursing involves seeing the patient and patient’s condition as a whole. Nurses use critical thinking when performing assessments. Nurses are expected to complete more tasks in a shorter amount of time (Berkow, Virkstis, Stewart, Aronson, & Donohue, 2011, p. 168). When a patient’s status declines, nurses must identify and understand information in order to create a plan of action. In Patricia Benner’s “Stages of Clinical Competence” (as cited in Current Nursing, 2011), a novice nurse has a thought process of, “Just tell me what I need to do and I’ll do it.” Reflecting back to being a new nurse, I remember thinking like a novice nurse. I had a hard time interpreting rationales based on my actions. I just knew I was doing what I was supposed …show more content…
I have to know how specific cancers effect the body, as well as, how current patient comorbidities play into their outcome. Recently, I cared for a patient with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML). He was admitted for a low platelet and hemoglobin count. During dayshift he received two units of blood. At the start of my shift, I had to administer a unit of platelets. He responded fine during the infusion without a reaction. About 30 minutes after the platelet infusion, I returned to his room to administer medications. I found the patient lying in his bed with rigors. I obtained a set of vital signs. His temperature was 101, pulse 125, respirations 24, blood pressure 80/48, and oxygen saturation of 79%. My first instinct was he was reacting to the platelets. However, my gut told me this was the beginning of sepsis. His white count was less than one. I called a rapid response and he was transferred to an intensive care unit. I found out the days later he was septic. Due to quick action, the patient had a good outcome and was able to transfer back to our floor