Exam 8: Critical Thinking

A nurse is using scientific knowledge and experience to choose strategies to use in the care of a patient.Which critical thinking skill is the nurse using?

A nurse is caring for a patient who underwent an above-the-knee amputation that requires a dressing change,a skill the nurse has never done.The nurse asks another nurse to help with the dressing change for the amputated leg.The nurse is demonstrating which critical thinking attitude?

A new nurse who has just begun working for an oncology unit is frustrated with trying to figure out the relationships between a patient's problems and appropriate nursing interventions.What is the best tool that the nurse can use to synthesize data into meaningful information?

Which patient situation indicates the nurse used fairness?

A new registered nurse working for a busy unit of an acute care teaching hospital begins the shift with four patients.Which patient should the nurse attend to first?

Upon checking a medication order,the nurse notices that the dosage is more than three times the normal range for this medication.The nurse calls the primary health care provider to question the order.Which critical thinking attitude did the nurse use?

A registered nurse is caring for a patient in the trauma unit who had been involved in a motor vehicle accident.Although the patient denied pain,during the nurse's assessment,the nurse observed that the patient groaned when moving and was protective of the right arm.The nurse believed the patient had pain and reported it to the primary health care provider,who ordered a radiograph (x-ray)of the right arm.The radiograph revealed a fractured arm.Which technique did the nurse use?

A patient with cancer is undergoing outpatient chemotherapy.The clinic nurse notes that the patient's white blood cell count is very low and has little energy.The plan of care is based upon the nursing diagnosis Risk for Infection.The nurse provides patient teaching in order to reduce the risk for infection.The nurse is using which skill in this situation?

A nurse is describing risk taking,creativity,and integrity in nursing care.What is the nurse explaining?

A nurse is admitting a 73-year-old woman with a fractured ulna and radius to the trauma unit of the hospital.The patient's daughter and son-in-law are present.The nurse notices that the patient does not make eye contact when answering questions and the nurse senses that something is not right about the situation.Which technique did the nurse use?

A patient on a pediatric unit who underwent an appendectomy for a ruptured appendix 3 days ago complains of acute pain and has a high fever.The nurse is concerned that the patient may have an infection and notifies the primary health care provider of the change in the patient's condition.This concern is based on the nurse's experience as a pediatric nurse.The nurse's ability to make a tentative conclusion regarding this patient's situation based on observed data is known as what?

A patient receiving blood after an abdominal surgery notified the nurse that the IV pump was alarming.The nurse checked the pump and determined that the tubing was kinked.The tubing was straightened out and the nurse left the room.Five minutes later the IV pump again alarmed.The nurse returned to find the tubing was again kinked.On further investigation,the nurse discovered that the IV tubing had become twisted.This is an example of which behavior on the part of the nurse?

A nurse is teaching a group of nursing students about the nursing process.In which order should the nurse list the steps?

A nurse walks into a room and finds a patient to be severely confused.The nurse examines and observes the patient closely and thinks about other situations with severely confused patients before making a nursing diagnosis.Which skill is the nurse using?

Which information indicates the nurse has a correct understanding of critical thinking?

A nurse is caring for an elderly lady who recently experienced a stroke and who coughs/chokes after eating or drinking.The nurse knew that the patient was at risk for aspiration because of the stroke and was concerned that the patient may have impaired swallowing.The nurse develops a care plan based on the nursing diagnosis Impaired Swallowing.Which skill is the nurse using to make this nursing diagnosis?

While a nurse is assessing a patient's chest pain,the patient states,"The pain hurts in the middle of my chest." The nurse asks,"Can you tell me where the pain is exactly and describe what it feels like?" Which attitude for critical thinking is the nurse using?

A nurse is alert to potentially problematic situations in a patient and is using evidence-based knowledge.Which concept for a critical thinker is the nurse using?

A student nurse is administering an enema with an instructor in the room.The patient states that he or she can no longer hold the enema solution.The student nurse acknowledges the patient's request and begins to tell the patient to go to the bathroom but asks the instructor if this is OK.The instructor suggests that the patient wait a few minutes to give the enema solution time to be absorbed into the bowel.In this situation the student nurse demonstrates what level of critical thinking according to Kataoka-Yahiro and Saylor's model?

A surgical unit uses Betadine to prep the skin before surgery.A nurse is using the scientific method to decide if soap and water is better than Betadine for preparing the skin for surgery.A nurse washes one group of patients with soap and water and washes another group of patients with Betadine.Which step did the nurse implement?