While there are many similarities in how nurses and other professionals in the medical sector think, there are also significant differences. Unlike staff who perform their duties and leave, nurses and their patients often have therapeutic relationships that can last hours, days, weeks, or even longer. During this period, nurses have extended vigilance and engage in episodes of clinical reasoning for every patient in their care. They respond to the complexities of their patients’ illnesses in holistic, person-centered, and authentic ways.
What is clinical reasoning?
Clinical reasoning is a cyclical and systematic process that guides clinical decision-making, especially in emergency, non-routine, or unpredictable situations, leading to informed and accurate clinical judgments. In nursing, this is the process by which nurses collect signals, process the signs, understand the situation of a patient, plan interventions, take action, evaluate actions, and learn and reflect from the process.
Competence in clinical reasoning is viewed as a dynamic and unique process that facilitates in-depth analyses of patient’s health problems, leading to safe care in nursing. Therefore, the process of clinical reasoning is emphasized in nursing education. For example, the online MSN-AGPCNP program provided by the University of Indianapolis highlights the clinical reasoning abilities of nursing …
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