critical thinking

Editorial Team / Admin · Feb 15, 2007

Hello, bwpcicuube,

Check out this thread found as a sticky in this forum:

https://allnurses.com/forums/f17/resources-nurse-educators-strategies-enhance-critical-thinking-128102.html

bwpcicuube · Feb 15, 2007

Thanks!!

Editorial Team / Admin · Feb 15, 2007

You are welcome.

beth38 · Mar 17, 2007

Please help. I am a nursing student and have been a nursing assistant for over 15 years. I will make this breif. In 3rd semester we were told by an instructor that we need to know our weakness. So I proceded to explain that I feel that I was having a hard time with role transition. Now that is haunting me. She wrote this in my eval and it was passed along to my 4th semester instructor. So know you know what she is focusing on. I feel that I have the knowledge to critically think in many situations and that I have the ability to put the whole picture together with a patients diagnoses, but this comment is hanging over my head and when I get nervous or feel rushed I blurt out things that doesn't seem to be what the instructor is looking for. Any suggestions as to what I may do differently to prove to my instructors that I do see the whole picture would be greatly appreciated.

cholli · Mar 17, 2007

As an instructor, I am always reassured when the students verbalizes rationales for everyting with out me asking.

When you are asked a question, take time to think about what is being asked to make sure you are both on the same page. In addition that clinical paperwork really tells me who is putting it all together (always a bonus when neat, tidy, correct terminology and no mis-spellings)

Good luck

Thanks for reminding me why I don't like to talk to the previoius instructor and make my own assessments instead.!!

beth38 · Mar 18, 2007

Thank you for your response. I can understand if a student was in unsafe communicating this to another instructor. I have not told this instructor that I have a diagnosis of ADD and that I need that extra minute to think things through. I feel that if I do she will say well if you are in an emergency situation and don't have time to think thing's through what will I do? I have proven myself to my other instructors and they have given me all satisfactory's on my evals. I have one more clinical day with her and will be going back to a previous instructor who know's about this diagnosis and gave me satisfactory. Do you think I should tell her or just say that I know the information I just need a minute to collect my thought's and will get back to her?

cholli · Mar 18, 2007

As you well know -all instructors are different. If I ask a student a question and they don't know the answer, the apropriate response is " That's a good question, let me look it up and get back to you". I want to see if they can use their resources to figure it out.

I think it is fair to ask the instructor prior to the first clinical day some hypothetical questions- I would think this should happen with the rest of the clinical group present.