Critical Thinking Skills is the third book in the Critical Study Skills for Nurses series. The activities in the book often require you to figure things out and discover things for yourself, a learning technique often used at universities.
Chapter 1
Learning outcomes
Reflection
A good place to start with critical thinking is with the idea of asking questions to get to the truth. But the important point is that Socrates questioned the received wisdom and relied solely on reasoned argument to arrive at the truth.
Task
Did you feel that something you read or heard recently lacked critical thinking? This inevitably means that there are sometimes instances of received wisdom that turns out to be wrong.
Case studies
There are many other areas of healthcare where similar developments have taken place; some of these have been widely publicized in the media, and others have led to significant changes in the policies of governments or healthcare organizations. As a nurse, it is important that you not only follow academic thinking on health issues as reported in textbooks and journals, but that you also monitor how these issues are reported in the media.
Advanced skills
Fake news often focuses on politics and celebrities, but sometimes it involves health issues. The impact of this concept was highlighted recently when Collins Dictionary named 'fake news' as its 2017 'word of the year' (Flood, 2017).
Discussion of task
This headline hit The Times newspaper in September 2017, reporting that scientists at the University of Bristol conducted a study (a systematic literature review) which concluded that there was 'surprisingly limited' evidence that ' A little alcohol harms an unborn baby. Indeed, the next day The Times published a correction saying that the headline had wrongly suggested that light drinking during pregnancy did no harm.
Case study
David Spiegelhalter tweeted that The Times had not included it, saying "the precaution is reasonable," which would have markedly changed the tone of the article. The following sections of the Code are particularly clear about the importance of critical thinking.
Discussion of task
Critical thinking is inherent in the NMC Code (2015) and you should be guided by the Code in your daily practice. It is also necessary to listen to the arguments of others involved in the situation and assess them critically.
Case study A
As a nurse, you will encounter many difficult or emotional situations, and it is important that you react in a balanced way, i.e. that you manage to be both compassionate and objective. Look at Case Study A below, based on a real-world referral to NMC, and answer the following questions.
Discussion of case study A
Look at case study A below, based on a real-world reference to the NMC, and answer the following questions. So while Nurse Z might have used the harm reduction evidence to support his decision (6.1), Nurse Z failed to consider competing information (A's care plan) (9.2) and failed to understand the consequences of the decision (A's wounds). A should be checked). ) (13.1).
Case study B
Discussion of case study B
Top tips
Summary
Chapter 2
Reading for Your Nursing Education, Chapter 3, Become a Member of Your Academic and Professional Community, The Nursing Community, Reflective Practice. Studying for your Nursing Degree Chapter 6 Assessment .. how to meet patients' needs; .. what constitutes successful care and how it can be achieved, maintained and replicated; .. how to use resources efficiently; .. your own motivation and actions, and the consequences of those actions; .. your own values, beliefs and attitudes; .. how to understand people and their backgrounds and be sensitive to cultural diversity; .. how to work better with patients and their relatives; .. how to work better with colleagues and partner organisations; .. the origin or root causes of problems; .. decision-making and problem-solving processes. There are a number of reflective models designed to help students think things through in a structured way.
Borton’s model of structured reflection
Gibbs’ reflective cycle
For example, the 'feelings' stage requires you to notice how you feel (angry, upset, delighted, anxious, etc.) and then consider whether the feelings were appropriate, or perhaps an under- or over-reaction; the 'analysis' stage is about you trying to make sense of the situation; and the 'conclusion' stage is about investigating whether there were alternative ways of dealing with the situation.
Johns’ model of structured reflection
How can I reframe the situation and respond more effectively if a similar situation were to occur again.
Critically evaluating reflective frameworks
Although clinical supervision is seen as good practice, it is not mandatory in healthcare organizations and can be quite resource intensive. The word 'supervision' may conjure up images of surveillance or monitoring, but that is not what clinical supervision strives for. Indeed, clinical supervision is often provided by external agencies such as charities or other NHS trusts, rather than by someone who works in the same place as you.
Short written reflections
Is the most reflective because the student thinks clearly about the situation, listens to other people's points of view and tries to bring them together to find out how their learning can be improved as a result. B is not really reflective because the student cannot see the relationship between their responsibility and their learning. Is reflection the best because feelings are analysed, views are accepted and the learner tries to relate it all to her learning and development.
Longer written reflections and essays
One of the things that struck me immediately about my placement was the number of teenagers with mental health issues. The reflection corresponds to many elements in the reflective models (Borton, 1970; Gibbs, 1988, Johns, 2009) discussed earlier in the chapter. The writing moves between description of the treatment process and analysis of the student's feelings and development of understanding.
The language of reflection
Informative analysis and evaluation of the outcomes of the incident itself, the actions of a more experienced colleague, and, importantly, the opportunity the situation provides for observation and reflection. What initially seemed like a negative – feeling paralyzed and helpless – is recognized as a positive – an opportunity to really see what's going on and reflect on it objectively: 'being rooted in the right place has a had significant benefit for me. learning and future practice'. Effective analysis of the follow-up to the incident and the learning experience – talk to the experienced colleague about what happened and how certain feelings and reactions may have arisen and can be managed effectively.
Discussion of reflective language analysis
Match the headings (1–7) with the sets (A–G) of sentences below, taken from the previous reflective essay. This made me uncomfortable because I thought Amy needed to go to the emergency room so she could be assessed and stitched up if necessary. It also made me feel guilty, because as a second year I felt I should have been able to help.
Top tips
Chapter 3
To complete assignments at university, you will be required to access the literature relevant to your discipline, mostly in the form of textbooks and academic journals. It discusses how to deal critically with the literature, how to go about analyzing and evaluating the arguments and evidence presented so that you can develop and support your own position in oral and written assignments. Influential journals have what is known as a high impact factor (Garfield, 2006), and the more you progress in your studies, the more you will be expected to draw from these weightier journals.
Selecting credible sources
Note that journal articles, which are subject to review by an expert panel of referees, are considered more academic than journal articles, which are typically chosen by the editor. There are limits to the time you can spend reading, so it is very important to read efficiently. Keep in mind that a well-written title and summary can give you all the information you need initially.
Selecting relevant sources
Use of a patient hand hygiene protocol to reduce hospital-acquired infections and improve nurses' handwashing. Objective To investigate a new patient hand hygiene protocol designed to reduce the rate of hospital-acquired infection and improve handwashing compliance by nurses in an intensive care unit. Conclusions A hand hygiene protocol for intensive care unit patients was associated with reductions in hospital-acquired infections and improvements in handwashing compliance by nurses.
Discussion of tasks
It is also essential to constantly relate what you find in the literature to your specific context, i.e. the task or question you are working on. As noted earlier, the academic work you produce is in some ways the story of your journey through the literature, an account of how your own thought processes developed as you encountered, analyzed and evaluated the ideas and arguments of scholars in the field has. This chapter has guided you in choosing credible, relevant sources and suggested ways in which you can engage critically with the literature.
Sources of example texts
Chapter 4
Globally, one of the most influential frameworks for training, auditing and feedback regarding hand hygiene practices is World Health. There is some evidence that clear handwashing guidelines and protocols can improve nurses' adherence to hand hygiene recommendations (Sax et al, 2007; Fox et al, 2015). However, according to the latest Cochrane systematic review on hand hygiene (Gould et al, 2017), the best way to achieve compliance with current hand hygiene recommendations is yet to be determined.
Appendix 1
Appendix 2
This happened some time before the present moment, but we are not concerned with the exact time - we are more concerned with what happened, not when.). There is no single form of the future verb in English; many forms are used to refer to the future, depending on how the action is viewed. These verb forms are very common in the concluding sections of reflections, when considering planned actions and future practices.
Further reading
Conclusion; action plan How can I reformulate the situation and react more effectively if a similar situation were to arise again.
What does it mean to write critically?
Globally, one of the most influential frameworks for training, auditing and feedback regarding hand hygiene practices is the World Health Organization's (WHO) 'Five Moments for Hand Hygiene' (Sax et al., 2007). Signals the organization of the argument developed in the essay, clearly linked to the essay question itself. Objective summary of the evidence which clearly reflects the uncertainty associated with the topic; note the use of small but important words such as