Deck 8: Critical Thinking

Question 1

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) Intuition
B) Critical thinking
C) Nursing process
D) Reflection

Answer 1

Intuition

Question 2

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?

A) Concept map
B) Reflective journal
C) Plan of care
D) Intellectual standards

Answer 2

Concept map

Question 3

A student nurse in the last semester of nursing school found that keeping a journal of clinical experiences helped the student nurse understand why certain actions were taken and to evaluate whether there was a better way of approaching the task.The student nurse has found that this has helped strengthen critical thinking skills.Which skill for developing critical thinking did the student nurse use?

A) Professional standards
B) Nursing process
C) Concept mapping
D) Purposeful reflection

Answer 3

Purposeful reflection

Question 4

A registered nurse is caring for a postoperative patient whose systolic blood pressure has dropped 10 points during the shift.The nurse remembers that this was similar to a situation that happened in the past when a patient developed an internal bleed.Based upon the nurse's thoughts,which skill did the nurse use?

A) Intuition
B) Critical thinking
C) Nursing process
D) Reflection

Question 5

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?

A) Clinical inferences
B) Reflective journaling
C) Accountability
D) Intuition

Question 6

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) Scientific method
B) Clinical inference
C) Effective problem solving
D) Data collection

Question 7

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) Confidence
B) Risk taking
C) Fairness
D) Curiosity

Question 8

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

A) Assessment, diagnosis, planning, implementation, and evaluation
B) Diagnosis, assessment, planning, implementation, and evaluation
C) Planning, evaluation, diagnosis, implementation, and assessment
D) Evaluation, diagnosis, planning, implementation, and assessment

Question 9

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) Level 1: Basic
B) Level 2: Complex
C) Level 3: Commitment
D) Level 4: Expert

Question 10

A registered nurse is explaining a procedure to a patient who speaks another language.Which action by the nurse reflects critical thinking?

A) Teach with unfamiliar explanations.
B) Explain using medical jargon.
C) Use vague descriptions.
D) Obtain an interpreter.

Question 11

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) Analysis
B) Evaluation
C) Explanation
D) Self-regulation

Question 12

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) Medical diagnosis
B) Scientific method
C) Diagnostic reasoning
D) Data collection

Question 13

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) Humility
B) Confidence
C) Risk-taking
D) Fairness

Question 14

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) Intuition
B) Critical thinking
C) Perseverance
D) Reflection

Question 15

A nurse is using the scientific method to solve a patient situation.Which action should the nurse take first?

A) Collect data.
B) Identify a problem.
C) Formulate a question.
D) Evaluate the results.

Question 16

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

A) Attitudes of critical thinking
B) Competencies of critical thinking
C) Standards for critical thinking
D) Nursing process for critical thinking

Question 17

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?

A) Medical diagnosis
B) Scientific method
C) Diagnostic reasoning
D) Data collection

Question 18

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?

A) Patient who needs assistance in ambulating the hall
B) Patient whose blood pressure suddenly drops and who passes out (faints)
C) Recovering stable surgical patient whose family has just arrived
D) Recovering patient who is resting quietly watching television

Question 19

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) Effective problem solving
B) Diagnostic reasoning
C) Scientific method
D) Commitment level of critical thinking

Question 20

Which situation represents a nurse using clinical decision-making skills?

A) Collecting information about a patient and coming to a conclusion about his or her health problems
B) Developing a new idea based on experience and knowledge over time
C) Selecting appropriate treatment after forming diagnostic conclusions
D) Clarifying the problem and analyzing possible causes

Question 21

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

A) It is a continuous process characterized by open-mindedness.
B) It is the same thing as the nursing process.
C) It is a haphazard method of providing nursing care.
D) It is moving from writing a plan of care to thinking.

Question 22

A nurse is teaching the staff about the major elements in the critical thinking model.Which information should the nurse include in the teaching session? (Select all that apply.)

A) Intricate
B) Attitudes
C) Standards
D) Experience
E) Competence

Question 23

Which patient situation indicates the nurse used fairness?

A) The nurse used original thinking to find solutions outside the standard routine.
B) The nurse asked "why" the interventions were used to help the patient.
C) The nurse did not allow personal attitudes to influence delivery of care.
D) The nurse followed the "six rights" when giving medication to a patient.

Question 24

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) Integrity
B) Discipline
C) Planning
D) Nursing diagnosis

Question 25

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) Maturity
B) Analyticity
C) Systematicity
D) Inquisitiveness

Question 26

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?

A) Identifying the problem
B) Forming the question or hypothesis
C) Answering the question or hypothesis
D) Evaluating the results of the test or study