Drawing on your own examples from nursing practice can offer opportunities for reflection and evaluation. For this activity, you will identify experiences that stand out in applying clinical judgment. It may be the circumstances of a correct decision—even a dramatic example for a patient in crisis—that you made or observed another professional making. It might also be an error in clinical judgment to analyze in hindsight. Think through each example to identify nursing skills that support sound clinical judgment—either how those skills were present or what was lacking that created or contributed to poor judgment.
Also consider how cultural competence plays a role in clinical judgment and how implicit bias can skew decision making. For instance, reflect on these “negative effects on patient care” outlined by Narayan (2019, p. 38) and the potential to interfere with clinical judgment:
inadequate patient assessments
inappropriate diagnoses and treatment decisions
less time involved in patient care
patient discharges with insufficient follow-up
You are encouraged to be candid in your reflections and analysis, which are for your Instructor’s review only, while following rules of confidentiality in referring to patients and fellow staff.
Write 1–2 pages in which you include the following:
Describe skills that are necessary for a professional nurse to employ clinical judgment and provide a rationale for each skill. Include at least one skill that relates to the professional nurse’s role in ensuring diversity, equity, and inclusion in patient care. Integrate examples from your own experience as they apply.
Explain barriers to exercising good clinical judgment, including how implicit bias affects decision making and strategies to address and overcome these barriers. Integrate examples from your own experience as they apply.
Describe an example from your nursing practice when you applied clinical judgment, the outcome, and how you used this experience to improve your nursing practice.
Learning Resources:
Dresser, S., Teel, C., & Peltzer, J. (2023). Frontline nurses’ clinical judgment in recognizing, understanding, and responding to patient deterioration: A qualitative studyLinks to an external site.. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 139, 104436. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2023.104436
Manetti, W. (2019). Sound clinical judgment in nursing: A concept analysisLinks to an external site.. Nursing Forum, 54(1), 102–110. https://doi.org/10.1111/nuf.12303
Narayan, M. C. (2019). CE: Addressing implicit bias in nursing: A reviewLinks to an external site.. American Journal of Nursing, 119(7), 36–43. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.NAJ.0000569340.27659.5A
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