ummm...critical thinking

l.rae · Sep 16, 2002

l am not sure what a critical thinking test is...but l would whatch for phrases like...''the first action taken should be''...''the most correct statement''.......''...which is the inappropriate action''.....''the most appropriate action to take is...''......good luck....let me know how it turns out........LR

Love-A-Nurse · Sep 16, 2002

bea, the critical thinking chapter will be part of our exam on tuesday. i just finished reading it. i agreeeeeeee....ummmmmmm! :)

if patient teaching is to be done, your critical thinking comes into play when you tell the patients the s/s of, for exam, a lesion on his/her face which the patient states it has been there for some time, you would tell them to come back if, (1) it bleeds (2) change in color, size, it is will not heal etc.

if it is situtional:

prioritizing is the key...what would you do first or whom would you delegate tasks too.

maybe someone else can help because this part of nursing is new to me too.

let us know how it goes.

Love-A-Nurse · Sep 16, 2002

bea, the critical thinking chapter will be part of our exam on tuesday. i just finished reading it. i agreeeeeeee....ummmmmmm! :)

if patient teaching is to be done, your critical thinking comes into play when you tell the patients the s/s of, for exam, a lesion on his/her face which the patient states it has been there for some time, you would tell them to come back if, (1) it bleeds (2) change in color, size, it is will not heal etc.

if it is situational:

prioritizing is the key...what would you do first or whom would you delegate tasks too.

maybe someone else can help because this part of nursing is new to me too.

beaRNwhenIgroUP · Sep 16, 2002

Originally posted by l.rae
l am not sure what a critical thinking test is...but l would whatch for phrases like...''the first action taken should be''...''the most correct statement''.......''...which is the inappropriate action''.....''the most appropriate action to take is...''......good luck....let me know how it turns out........LR

i'm not sure either:eek: thanks for the tips, though...

Thanx to everyone for the pointers, i'll check again in the a.m. and i'll let y'all know how it goes when i get home tomorrow afternoon. i'll do my best to remember some of the questions so i can share them w/ everybody so we can understand a little better what, in fact, a "critical thinking" test is...:)

g'night all

sarah:devil:

KRVRN, BSN, RN · Sep 16, 2002

These kinds of tests deal a lot with prioritization (as has already been mentioned). So ALWAYS remember A-B-C when deciding what to do first. I found that the questions will sometimes be sneaky and throw in pain somewhere (because we all know how important pain control is), don't be fooled, pain comes after A-B-C. This comes up again and again on nursing school tests AND the NCLEX. Good luck.

Mkue · Sep 16, 2002

Originally posted by beaRNwhenIgroUP

i'm not sure either:eek: thanks for the tips, though...

Thanx to everyone for the pointers, i'll check again in the a.m. and i'll let y'all know how it goes when i get home tomorrow afternoon. i'll do my best to remember some of the questions so i can share them w/ everybody so we can understand a little better what, in fact, a "critical thinking" test is...:)

g'night all
sarah:devil:

That would be nice Sarah, let us know !

live4today, RN · Sep 16, 2002

TO ME........all critical thinking entails is being able to apply what you know in the right order. Sort of like......growing up, getting engaged, getting married, then having babies kind of critical thinking. That's a basic analogy to use for example only.

Another example would be to finish one grade level at a time.....in order to arrive at one's educational goal. You can't jump to "C" without first accomplishing "A" then "B" because that's just the sequence outline for how to do things in many areas of life.

Another example: The farmer toils the soil....prepares it for seeding. Then, plants the seeds......keeps the soil watered just right.......removes the weeds as they grow around the plants....then waaaaalaaaaah......the plant reaches maturity and is able to be picked for eating.

Another example: A child is learning to ride a bike for the first time. Now.....some kids learn by "trial and error" because they are in too much of a hurry to slow down and learn a "less painful" way. A child who wants to use his head (critical pathway) would first begin to build his confidence by riding a bike with training wheels on it. Once he feels confident riding with trainers on his bike, he tells his parent(s) to remove the training wheels. Once the training wheels come off, the child is assisted by his parent as he climbs on the two wheel bike and the parent then helps him get a good start. Once the parent sees the child is stable on the bike, the parent let's go. The child is riding the bike....for awhile....then out of his excitement that he is finally riding the bike, he loses his focus on the proper steps.......staying focused once you get the bike rolling. So.....we all know what happens next.....the child falls off the bike.....gets his first "bike bruise". Does he quit? No.....he gets back on that bike until he learns how to ride it.....the right way.

Now.....it's okay to screw up on critical thinking when you aren't working with a human life........but, when you are working with a human life, you want to.....no.....you NEED to get it right the first time. So.......if you don't know what you are doing.....GRAB someone who does.

When taking the critical thinking test, or the NCLEX exam.....the first thing to do is think through things in a sequential order......for when there is ORDER to things......you'll find things run so much more smoothly.

THINK THROUGH EACH SCENARIO VERY CAREFULLY......answering the question in order of what you do first to assure the patient is okay.

THINK "CPR" steps.....order of doing things.....and the rationale for doing each step first. Hope this generalized explanation clarifies how to think critically when a human life is at stake. I wish you all the best in passing your test. :nurse:

Love-A-Nurse · Sep 16, 2002

originally posted by cheerfuldoer
to me........all critical thinking entails is being able to apply what you know in the right order. sort of like......growing up, getting engaged, getting married, then having babies kind of critical thinking. that's a basic analogy to use for example only.

another example would be to finish one grade level at a time.....in order to arrive at one's educational goal. you can't jump to "c" without first accomplishing "a" then "b" because that's just the sequence outline for how to do things in many areas of life.

another example: the farmer toils the soil....prepares it for seeding. then, plants the seeds......keeps the soil watered just right.......removes the weeds as they grow around the plants....then waaaaalaaaaah......the plant reaches maturity and is able to be picked for eating.

another example: a child is learning to ride a bike for the first time. now.....some kids learn by "trial and error" because they are in too much of a hurry to slow down and learn a "less painful" way. a child who wants to use his head (critical pathway) would first begin to build his confidence by riding a bike with training wheels on it. once he feels confident riding with trainers on his bike, he tells his parent(s) to remove the training wheels. once the training wheels come off, the child is assisted by his parent as he climbs on the two wheel bike and the parent then helps him get a good start. once the parent sees the child is stable on the bike, the parent let's go. the child is riding the bike....for awhile....then out of his excitement that he is finally riding the bike, he loses his focus on the proper steps.......staying focused once you get the bike rolling. so.....we all know what happens next.....the child falls off the bike.....gets his first "bike bruise". does he quit? no.....he gets back on that bike until he learns how to ride it.....the right way.

now.....it's okay to screw up on critical thinking when you aren't working with a human life........but, when you are working with a human life, you want to.....no.....you need to get it right the first time. so.......if you don't know what you are doing.....grab someone who does.

when taking the critical thinking test, or the nclex exam.....the first thing to do is think through things in a sequential order......for when there is order to things......you'll find things run so much more smoothly.

think through each scenario very carefully......answering the question in order of what you do first to assure the patient is okay.

think "cpr" steps.....order of doing things.....and the rationale for doing each step first. hope this generalized explanation clarifies how to think critically when a human life is at stake. i wish you all the best in passing your test.

renee, thanks for taking the time to explan this for us. i will save your post.

live4today, RN · Sep 16, 2002

Stephany my love.....you are most welcome! Anytime I can be of support to you students just let me know. If I don't know....or...more like "can't remember" in this current day :chuckle......I will find the correct answers for you. :kiss :nurse:

beaRNwhenIgroUP · Sep 16, 2002

originally posted by lpn,future, rn
renee, thanks for taking the time to explan this for us. i will save your post.

same for me! i really appreciate it!

beaRNwhenIgroUP · Sep 16, 2002

well...it was not as bad as i thought it would be...i still only got a "C" but, historically few people pass her tests so i feel OK.

BUT - being the crazy maniac that i am, i will study more for the next test - i don't like C's. it's just hard cause in this class we're talking about being culturally sensitive and there is all of this terminology that i fear i'll never use again...like cultural blindness vs cultural imposition. SO my focus is definitely on my Health and Physical Assessment class, theraputic interventions, and clinicals...

However, i know that to be at the top of my game i need to do well in all classes...

SO, thanx again for all of the help and please let me know how y'all do on your tests this week

peace,

sarah