6.3: Critical Thinking I
Critical thinking helps decision-making and allows nurses to recognize barriers to success and find solutions to possible issues. It helps to brainstorm and implement ideas to achieve goals. Critical thinking helps acknowledge and state workflow inefficiencies while improving management techniques. Nurses understand the value of critical thinking and look for fellow nurses with critical thinking skills to upgrade their professional standards. Critical thinking can advance a nurse's career with several benefits, including promoting teamwork, resolving conflict, leadership training, and time-saving techniques. Nurses need time, patience, and practice to develop critical thinking skills. The following six steps are vital to every problem a nurse faces in practicing critical thinking:
- • Find the real cause of the problem.
- • Collect data regarding the issue.
- • Apply critical thinking skills to solve the problem.
- • Confirm the significance of the collected data.
- • Conclude the problem statement.
- • Publish or communicate the result.
Consider asking a colleague or a friend to assess skills and provide unbiased feedback about strengths and weaknesses. The feedback method can improve critical thinking skills and pave the path for advancement in the career. In addition, thinking critically includes applying the following standards: clarity, accuracy, precision, relevance, depth, logic, significance, and fairness.
