RN's critcal thinking

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Hi I was wondering what are some examples of critical thinking nurses have to deal with on a daily bases? Is there a difference between LVNs and RN critical thinking? I know I cant compare it but I was really bad at critical thinking for my college english class LOL.. and my other question is if a RN with a bachelors would have more work/responsibilty than a RN with an associate. Thanks in advance you guys been a lot of help!

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Specializes in med/surg, telemetry, IV therapy, mgmt.

what are some examples of critical thinking nurses have to deal with on a daily basis?

it sounds like you are not in nursing school yet. that makes it difficult to give you an example of the kind of critical thinking examples we nurses deal with daily because you are not familiar or trained in anything pertaining to nursing yet. however, i can give you an everyday example of what is involved in the process of critical thinking because, whether you are aware of it or not, you probably have engaged in some critical thinking already. critical thinking is merely
rational problem-solving
. here's an example:

you are driving along and suddenly you hear a bang, you start having trouble controlling your car's direction and it's hard to keep your hands on the steering wheel. you pull over to the side of the road. "what's wrong?" you're thinking. you look over the dashboard and none of the warning lights are blinking. you decide to get out of the car and take a look at the outside of the vehicle. you start walking around it. then, you see it. a huge nail is sticking out of one of the rear tires and the tire is noticeably deflated. what you have just done is step #1 of the nursing process--performed an assessment. you determine that you have a flat tire. you have just done step #2 of the nursing process--made a diagnosis. the little squirrel starts running like crazy in the wheel up in your brain. "what do i do?" you are thinking. you could call aaa. no, you can save the money and do it yourself. you can replace the tire by changing out the flat one with the spare in the trunk. good thing you took that class in how to do simple maintenance and repairs on a car! you have just done step #3 of the nursing process--planning (developed a goal and intervention). you get the jack and spare tire out of the trunk, roll up your sleeves and get to work. you have just done step #4 of the nursing process--implementation of the plan. after the new tire is installed you put the flat one in the trunk along with the jack, dust yourself off, take a long drink of that bottle of water you had with you and prepare to drive off. you begin slowly to test the feel as you drive. good. everything seems fine. the spare tire seems to be ok and off you go and on your way. you have just done step #5 of the nursing process--evaluation (determined if your goal was met).

the nursing process that is referred to in that paragraph is the critical thinking process that we nurses use to make those
rational problem-solving
decisions on the job. instead of flat tires it is patient situations (patient problems) we deal with.

i have a list of critical thinking test questions that nursing students have posted on the student forums. you can look at them to get an idea of what these questions are like, but i am not sure if you will necessarily understand the content:

does a rn with a bachelors have more work/responsibilty than a rn with an associate?

you are talking about 2 different things.

rn
is a legal authorization to work at a specified level of nursing that can only be granted by the state you live in. you have to meet specific requirements required by your state law as well as take and pass the nclex examination in order to get an
rn
license.

a bsn (bachelor of science of nursing) or aa (associate of arts) are ranks given to students by a college or university after completing a specified course of study at their institution. a college or university has no authority to grant any kind of nursing license.

every job has duties and responsibilities that are usually spelled out in its description. one of a job's requirements might be that the person have an
rn
license. some may also require that the
rn
have a bsn. it depends on the job description. staff nurses can have a bsn or aa degree and will have identical work and job responsibilities because that is what the job description calls for. bsns are often required for supervision and management positions in nursing.

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Specializes in Hospital Education Coordinator.

no additional comment as Daytonite hits it on the nailhead! Just want to say I hope you consider nursing. Curiosity is a great nursing attribute.

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That was a really GOOOD explanation lol. Thanks for the help, I really appreciate it.

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