VERIFIED AND 100% ACCURATE ANSWERS
A nurse enters a patient's room at the beginning of a shift to assess his
condition following a blood transfusion. The nurse cared for the patient
on the previous day as well. The patient has several issues he wishes to
share with the nurse, who takes time to explore each issue. The nurse
also assesses the patient and finds no signs or symptoms of a reaction to
the blood product. The nurse observed the patient the prior day and sees
a change in his behavior—a reluctance to get out of bed and ambulate.
Which of the following actions improve the nurse's ability to make
clinical decisions about this patient? (Select all that apply.)
1. Working the same shift each day
2. Spending time during the patient assessment
3. Knowing the early mobility protocol guidelines
4. Caring for the patient on consecutive days
5. Knowing the pattern of patient behavior about ambulation Correct
Answers Answer: 2, 4, 5. Clinical decision making is enhanced by
spending enough time during patient assessments and knowing a
patient's typical behaviors (which is reinforced when a nurse is assigned
to a patient on consecutive days). Working the same shift does not mean
the nurse will care for the same patient. Knowledge about the mobility
protocol is helpful, but clinical decisions center on the needs of an
individual patient (e.g., whether a patient meets the criteria for a
mobility protocol and how well the patient has advanced so far).
Match the concepts for a critical thinker on the left with the application
of the term on the right,
,Concepts for Critical Thinkers
___ 1. Truth seeking
___ 2. Open-mindedness
___ 3. Analyticity
___ 4. Systematicity
Term Application
a. Anticipate how a patient might respond to a treatment.
b. Organize assessment on the basis of patient priorities.
c. Be objective in asking patient questions.
d. Be tolerant of the patient's views and beliefs. Correct Answers
Answer: 1c, 2d, 3a, 4b.
A nurse has seen many cancer patients struggle with pain management
because they are afraid of becoming addicted to the medicine. Pain
control is a priority for cancer care. By helping patients focus on their
values and beliefs about pain control, a nurse can best make clinical
decisions. This is an example of:
1. Creativity
2. Fairness
3. Clinical reasoning
4. Applying ethical criteria Correct Answers Answer: 4. Incorporating a
patient's beliefs and values promotes
,patient autonomy and nurse advocacy, key ethical principles in
clinical decision making.
The REFLECT model can improve learning after providing patient care.
Place the steps of this model in the correct order:
1. Think about your thoughts and actions at the time of a situation.
2. Review the knowledge you gained from the experience.
3. Review the facts of the situation.
4. Set a schedule for completing your plan of action.
5. Consider options for handling a similar situation in the future.
6. Recall any feelings you had at the time of the situation.
7. Create a plan for future situations. Correct Answers Answer: 3, 1, 6,
2, 5, 7, 4. This is the correct order of steps in the
REFLECT model.
One element of clinical decision making is knowing the patient. Which
of the following activities affect a nurse's ability to know patients better?
(Select all that apply.)
1. Caring for similar groups of patients over time
2. Reading the evidence-based practices appropriate to patients
3. Learning how patients typically respond to their clinical situations
4. Observing patients
, 5. Engaging with patients experiencing illness Correct Answers Answer:
1, 3, 4, 5. Knowing the patient includes a nurse's under- standing of a
specific patient and the patient's subsequent selection of interventions.
Knowing the patient relates to a nurse's experi- ence with caring for
patients, time spent in a specific clinical area, and having a sense of
closeness with patients. Reading evidence- based practices builds your
knowledge about nursing science but does not provide the knowledge
needed through engaging with and observing patients.
A nurse is preparing medications for a patient. The nurse checks the
name of the medication on the label with the name of the medication on
the health care provider's order. At the bedside, the nurse checks the
patient's name against the medication order as well. The nurse is
following which critical thinking attitude?
1. Responsibility
2. Humility
3. Accuracy
4. Fairness Correct Answers Answer: 1. Responsibility involves
performing procedures correctly by following standards of care.
Accuracy, broadness, and fairness are intellectual standards. Humility is
the recognition of when you need more information to make a decision.
A nurse has been caring for a patient with a chronic wound that has not
been healing. The nurse talks with a nurse specialist in wound care to
find alternative approaches from what the health care provider ordered
for dressing the wound. The two decide that because of the patient's
allergy to tape, a nonallergenic dressing will be used. The nurse obtains
an order from the health care provider for the new dressing. After 2 days