Critical Thinking for Novice Nurses - Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: Discuss about the Critical Thinking for Novice Nurses. Answer: Introduction In healthcare, there are various skills that a nurse has to possess to attain competency or be termed as an expert. One of these skills is learning to think and acting critically. This is critical in the sense that it is part of the requirement that nurses have to attain to be competent. However, novice nurses, or those registered to practice in Australia, usually have problem inculcating critical thinking in their practice. It is therefore essential that this kind of group learn to think and act critically in their practice and not blindly following procedures put forward either by their senior colleagues or doctors (Kong, Qin, Zhou, Mou, Gao, 2014, p.461). Thus, this essay tries to elaborate why learning to think and act critically is essential for novice nurses. Additionally, the essay will elaborate some of the importance of a novice nurse having the ability to think and act critically. In addition to that, it is essential to explain why it is not prudent for nurses to enact proc edures blindly without utilizing their skills in thinking and circumstances where this can become unprofessional and even unrealistic. Therefore, even though it is challenging for inexperienced nurses to be tasked with the responsibility of making decisions on their own, it is important to look at the reasons why this is essential. Novice Nurses Newly registered nurses, from nursing college, lack the ability to move swiftly and make decisions on their own. Various reasons study attribute this, firstly, is that the new nurses feel unprepared or cannot make decisions that meet the daily challenges characteristics of the workforce (Parahoo, 2014, p.424). In addition to that, it is common for the novice nurses to feel that they do not possess critical thinking and clinical knowledge essential for one to come up with a sound decision. In dealing with specific cases, the novices appear to face challenges in dealing with an emergency, when caring for a dying patient or end-of-life scenario (Bradshaw, Hultquist, 2016, p.236). Also, in patients suffering from acute illness, new nurses tend to fare poorly in regards to thinking and acting critically. Even though novice nurses execute their decisions appropriately, they lack the confidence to ascribe a rationale behind their decisions, either because of lack of confidence or inexperie nce in dealing with real-life situations. It makes it essential thus for them to find a way to learn the ability to think and act critically. There are various important levels in learning that a novice nurse undergoes before he or she becomes confident enough to make his or her own decisions or attain the status of making his or her decisions based on ability. The first stage is the basic level where a nurse believes that the senior nurse is the one to offer him or her all the answers for any problem (Saintsing, Gibson, Pennington, 2011, p. 356). The second stage is called the complex level, and in this stage, the nurse becomes slightly independent. Even though he or she takes procedures and answers from the senior nurse or doctor, he or she also start making some decisions on her own without involving anyone else. The last level for a nurse is the commitment level, and here, the nurse is entirely independent and has acquired the confidence and clinical knowledge to make almost all decisions on his or her own (Ingham-Broomfield, 2015, p.34). All these levels are as crucial for this topic as they depict the stages and imp ortance of each level that a novice nurse undergoes before gaining the necessary experience and knowledge to think and act critically in regards to treating patients. Additionally, the levels denote various ways that newly registered nurses need to adapt to avoid taking instructions and be independent in solving problems in the workplace (Theisen, Sandau, 2013, p.429). In addition to that, moving from the lower stage to the highest stage improves the nurses professional practice. Importance of Nurses Thinking and Acting Critically For newly registered nurses in Australia, it will be challenging for them to form a successful career in nursing without having to think and act critically. It is also true that clinical skills are essential, but to be a competent nurse, there is more to that. It needs some bit of reasoning and thinking and not just taking procedures. As far as nursing is concerned, the aspects that the new novice need is to be precise, fair, logical, complete, clear and accurate (Freeling, Parker, 2015, p.46). All these elements the novice nurses must be taught during their practice and have to maintain them during talking or acting. This will ensure that the nurse is not just a puppet but one with the know-how and ready to respond to a patient for whatever concern that may arise. The skills that the newly graduated and registered nurse needs to be taught include but are not limited interpreting, evaluating and analyzing (Rush, Adamack, Gordon, Lilly, Janke, 2013, p.350). To start with interpreting , the new nurse has to understand and be in a position to elaborate the meaning of a given scenario. On the other hand, the new nurse needs to possess analyzing skills as a component of critical thinking for investigating of course of action but must come from data which meets the criteria of being objective or subjective (Edwards, Hawker, Carrier, Rees,2015, p. 1258). It is for this reason among many others that make it important for newly registered nurses to learn to think critically and acting the same as well for a successful treatment. Another reason that novice nurses need to learn on how to think and act critically and not just the following procedure is for forming a workplace. This entails making performance expectations which can be in the form of values that are well spelled out for everyone to apprehend in the given workplace. This appears to have a positive influence, especially on professional practice simply because nurses have the option of taking part in the process or have their opinion had in a particular subject (Pfaff, Baxter, Jack, Ploeg, 2014, p.7). Therefore, it is very crucial to create such kind of environment that cultivates professional behaviors because it makes nurses think on how they tackle issues and topics when they practice or rather administer a patient. In addition to that, it is important for novice nurses to learn to think and not just take procedures blindly as this enables them to deal with difficult situations. For instance, in a situation where a choice determines which course of action is fit to be implemented. Moreover, for the novice nurses to make clinical decisions, it is essential that they learn reasoning strategies and some of the criteria which are used by clinical nurses to come up with such decisions (Peters, 2014, p.225). The novice, therefore need to learn by asking why a certain decision has to be made for the nurse to be in the right position to make the right choices for the patient (Reem, Kitsantas, Maddox, 2014, p.1026). By learning how to think and act critically but not taking procedures blindly, the novice nurses put themselves in a position to either make sound judgment or decisions that are largely derived from their knowledge and experience which in turn can develop further skills. On the other hand, one of the best ways for novice nurses to learn problem-solving skills is to stop taking instructions blindly and start learning on how to think and act critically. For the newly registered nurses in Australia, they have to be taught in this phase on ways on how to examine the patient in all manners to identify what the patient needs (Hendricks, Cope, 2013, p.720). It is after this point of critical thinking that the nu nurses should then proceed to solve the problem by the use or application of evidence-based or the characteristics of the patients aimed at improving his condition (Sargent, Olmedo, 2013, p.605). In addition to that, by acquiring skills in problem-solving, the novice nurse put himself or herself in the right position to perform similar tasks again in the future should such a problem arise in the same condition which will not have been the case if she or he continues taking procedures blindly. There arise situations where a patient is unable to adequately communicate or show signs of what he or she requires. By taking instructions from senior nurses or any other authorities blindly, a nurse can never be in a position to help such a patient. This is another situation that calls for not only learning to think but acting critically for newly registered nurses in Australia. A nurse with vast knowledge and experience is such situation may be able to think critically and come up with new and various ways that can be helpful to the patient (Theisen, Sandau, 2013, p.430). On the other hand, a nurse who is not exposed to such situation or one who keeps on relying on another person to formulate procedures or decisions to be followed may prove to be ineffective or rather fail to offer any help to the patient. Novice nurses need to be taught that problems exist and prepare themselves with that kind of attitude. That sort of attitude is essential in both problem-solving and decision-ma king process in a hospital or in a patient to nurse interactions (Franklin, Burns, Lee, 2014, p.1300). Unlike in cases where a nurse is bound to wait for somebody to make decisions or offer guidance, the new nurses, by having this kind of attitude, are well prepared. Additionally, the nurse is aware of the problem that takes place and can form the guideline for solving various problems. It is challenging for nurses to operate in situations where they cannot completely make decisions. For newly registered nurses, it is important they take note that cases arise in a hospital that needs the person next to the patient to offer a solution (Morton et al., 2017, p.141). Additionally, following instructions blindly makes it unprofessional as a nurse need to have some know-how in various ways of responding to a patient. It is with this regard that newly registered and graduated nurses need to learn how to treat, respond and act promptly in situations of emergencies or any other that need their assistance (Phillips, Kenny, Esterman, Smith, 2014, p.110). This explains the reasons behind the need for learning among novice nurses. Studies also show that nurses who are critical thinkers are likely to stick to intellectual standards. This enables them to avoid ambiguity and confusion in ideas. Thus, there are numerous befits that call upon all nurses, and in this case, new gradua te registered nurses to stop following procedures blindly but instead learn how to think and act critically. There are various reasons that novice nurses need to learn the ability to think and act critically. The first thing that makes it so essential is that it brings nurses a form of independence. It is worth noting that nurses enter medical field with little or no working experience (Taylor, 2002, p.15). This makes them be over-reliant to senior nurses or the experienced ones who then act as their leaders in executing most of their decisions (Black, 2016, p.127). In effect, this creates some form of dependence for any decision that they have to make in regards to patients treatment or as the emergency arises. Thus, by learning to think and acting critically is essential to avoid such kind of dependency and attachment that comes with it. Conclusion It is evident that nurses need more skills than clinical knowledge. For the new graduate who has been recently registered as practicing nurses, it is important they learn how to think and act critically for many reasons. Firstly, a practitioner who thinks critically is likely to maintain all the standards practicing procedures. Secondly, a novice nurse will be in a better position to solve problems that emanate from patients that do not necessarily require an experienced nurse. 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