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onAugust 8, 2024

Importance of Critical Thinking in Nursing: Explained

Nursing UpToDate

8 min read

Table of Contents

Critical thinking is the systematic evaluation and analysis of information and ideas to form a judgment or decision.

The importance of developing critical thinking skills as a nurse cannot be overstated. Nurses are faced with decision-making situations daily, and those decisions impact patient outcomes, nurse-patient relationships, and interprofessional relationships. Critical thinking skills in nursing drive the nurse’s decision-making ability. It impacts every aspect of patient care.

Why Nurses need to develop critical thinking skills

1. Critical thinking skills will help you anticipate and understand changes in your patient’s condition.

Nurses who learn critical thinking can use those skills to understand normal or abnormal changes in patient conditions and determine what nursing intervention may be necessary to address those changes.

2. With strong critical thinking skills, you can make decisions about patient care that is most favorable for the patient and intended outcomes.

It is not uncommon for nurses to encounter situations in patient care where there are multiple appropriate options for care or treatment. While more than one treatment option may be reasonable, the nurse’s responsibility is to determine which treatment is most appropriate.

3. Strong critical thinking skills in nursing can contribute to innovative improvements and professional development.

Critical thinking in nursing promotes active thought and decision-making. When nurses demonstrate clinical thinking skills, they are able to promote improvement in patient care methods and improve professional development opportunities, which benefit patients and the healthcare team.

4. Critical thinking skills in nursing contribute to rational decision-making, which improves patient outcomes.

Although nursing is considered a science, there are instances that require split-second decisions. Nurses who are critical thinkers are more likely to make rational, patient-centered decisions that benefit the client and healthcare team.

Elements of Critical Thinking in Nursing

To assess situations and make informed decisions, nurses must integrate these specific elements into their practice:

Clinical judgment. Prioritize a patient’s care needs and make adjustments as changes occur. Gather the necessary information and determine what nursing intervention is needed. Keep in mind that there may be multiple options. Use your critical-thinking skills to interpret and understand the importance of test results and the patient’s clinical presentation, including their vital signs. Then prioritize interventions and anticipate potential complications. 
Patient safety. Recognize deviations from the norm and take action to prevent harm to the patient. Suppose you don’t think a change in a patient’s medication is appropriate for their treatment. Before giving the medication, question the physician’s rationale for the modification to avoid a potential error. 
Communication and collaboration. Ask relevant questions and actively listen to others while avoiding judgment. Promoting a collaborative environment may lead to improved patient outcomes and interdisciplinary communication. 
Problem-solving skills. Practicing your problem-solving skills can improve your critical-thinking skills. Analyze the problem, consider alternate solutions, and implement the most appropriate one. Besides assessing patient conditions, you can apply these skills to other challenges, such as staffing issues.

Barriers to Critical Thinking:

Confirmation bias: Seeking only confirming evidence.
Anchoring bias: Relying too heavily on initial information.
Availability heuristic: Overestimating the importance of readily available information.
Groupthink: Conforming to group opinions without critical evaluation.

Strategies to Enhance Critical Thinking:

Reflective journaling: Recording and reflecting on experiences.
Case studies: Analyzing complex patient scenarios.
Debriefing: Discussing challenging situations with colleagues.
Mentorship: Working with experienced nurses.
Continuing education: Staying updated on best practices.

How to Improve Critical Thinking in Nursing?

1. Demonstrate open-mindedness.

Nurses who are open-minded take the knowledge and experiences of others into consideration. Open-mindedness in nursing demonstrates a willingness to learn from others and gain insight from the professional experiences of your peers and creates an environment in which you can develop essential nursing skills like critical thinking.

2. Practice self-awareness.

Becoming self-aware means considering your values, ethics, morals, beliefs, and thought processes. People who practice self-awareness are familiar with the concept of analyzing, which is essential for critical thinking. Self-aware nurses know their strengths and weaknesses and use their knowledge of self as a guide to aid them in decision-making.

3. Avoid judgment.

Critical thinking in nursing requires being objective, which means being willing to suspend judgment. When you avoid judgment, you create an atmosphere conducive to effective communication, a necessary component of critical thinking and collaboration in nursing care.

4. Eliminate personal biases.

Everyone forms biases based on personal experiences. However, nurses must learn to separate personal biases from patient encounters to prevent making false assumptions that could negatively impact patient care. Consider your own thought processes and the ways you reach conclusions. If you identify a personal bias, take steps to eliminate it. In so doing, you allow yourself to be engaged in more multi-dimensional, objective ways of thinking, promoting improved critical thinking skills.

5. Do not be afraid to ask questions.

Nursing is an ever-growing and evolving profession, requiring nurses to keep up. Part of critical thinking in nursing is having a willingness to ask questions and learn from others. Further, asking questions helps you make informed decisions and evaluate the effectiveness of patient care.

6. Find an experienced mentor.

Experienced nurses are excellent sources of knowledge and information. When you surround yourself with like-minded people that have more experience than you, you can take from their experiences and build your own strengths. For example, nurses who have worked in intensive care for years can offer insight on how to implement critical thinking to prioritize care.

7. Join professional nursing organizations.

Other nurses understand the importance of growing, learning, and developing skills. Professional nursing organizations offer excellent opportunities to meet like-minded nurses who will encourage and challenge you. Many organizations offer members-only workshops and conferences focused on important topics such as critical thinking or decision-making.

8. Establish a routine of self-reflection.

Self-reflection is a type of personal analysis used to observe and evaluate situations in your life and your responses to them. Self-reflection gives nurses the opportunity to discover and acknowledge mistakes and establish new patterns of behavior to improve decision-making later. Nurses who practice self-reflection may write in a journal or simply spend time alone thinking about their day and what, if anything, could have or should have been done differently. Reflecting on one’s actions and behaviors is an excellent way to apply critical thinking in our personal lives, which can impact professional roles.

9. Utilize the chain of command.

No matter where you work, there will be a chain of command. Nurse managers are tasked with the responsibility of making sure patient care is provided in a timely, efficient manner. They have demonstrated the ability to exercise critical thinking and high-quality patient care. The decision to utilize the chain of command and seek direction, when needed, demonstrates a patient-centered level of critical thinking.

10. Determine the significance of data and decide if it is sufficient for decision-making.

Critical thinking skills in nursing require you to establish what information is most relevant to the problem or situation at hand. Informed decisions cannot be reached unless you have enough data pertaining to the situation. When you use critical thinking skills, you evaluate the amount of context of information or data and use it to make good decisions based on your nursing judgment.

11. Volunteer for leadership positions or opportunities.

People in leadership roles must make important decisions that can affect patients and their teams. When you volunteer or ask for leadership opportunities, you are setting yourself up for real-world experiences that require critical thinking skills. If your employer has mentioned a new project or something they want to accomplish within the facility, ask to have a role in project leadership or to assist a team member in training to help improve your own critical thinking skills.

12. Establish priorities.

Nurses often work in fast-paced environments where they must care for several patients. Each day, nurses must know what tasks, assessments, or patient concerns need to be addressed. Critical thinking measures help nurses determine which tasks are of higher priority so they can establish a plan of action for their day. Because the clinical environment may change quickly, nurses must remember to remain flexible even after an initial plan or priority checklist is made.

13. Be curious about everything.

Nurses who are critical thinkers may value tradition in nursing practice, but they are also comfortable examining those traditions to ensure their validity and relevance in patient care today. Curious nurses ask questions including, “What would happen if we used a different approach to wound care?” “Would something else be more effective in improving patient outcomes?” or “How does this protocol align with the patient’s needs at this time?”

14. Practice fair-mindedness.

Using critical thinking skills as a nurse requires a willingness to make impartial judgments by addressing the viewpoint of everyone involved in patient care. Being fair-minded means considering the thoughts and beliefs of the patient, family, and interdisciplinary team and demonstrating efforts to integrate change when improved patient outcomes are a possibility.

15. Learn the value of intellectual humility.

It is impossible for one person to know everything about a patient, illness, or treatment. Nurses who practice intellectual humility are willing to admit what they do not know and accept instruction from more experienced nurses or staff. Intellectual humility is a characteristic of critical thinking in nursing that occurs when nurses accept knowing what everyone believes to be the right approach may not always be right or the best approach to patient care as new treatments and evidence emerge.

16. Never stop learning.

Nurses who demonstrate critical thinking understand the importance of continuous learning. If you want to improve your critical thinking skills in nursing, take advantage of every opportunity to ask questions, learn new skills, and implement knowledge into daily practice.