Developing Critical Thinking Skills
As healthcare becomes increasingly integrated with technology providers must leverage their reliance on medical devices with their experiential knowledge to make significant patient care decisions . However , what happens when a new hire doesn ’ t have enough experience to pull from when faced with a critical decision — when a monitor says everything is okay but something doesn ’ t seem right with the patient ? Or when they encounter an experience they ’ ve never seen before and the patient is in their care ? Decision-making skills like these depend on the ability to think critically at a high level , something that cannot be easily taught in a classroom .
The industry is facing shortages , with limited time to catch new nurses and other providers up to the level of those retiring , and healthcare organizations must work quickly and efficiently to ensure staff is equipped to provide quality patient care . We recently spoke with HealthStream ’ s Sr . Vice President & General Manager of Clinical Solutions , Trisha Coady , about assessing and developing nurses for the ability to think critically .
Whereas a skill is something that can be taught and checked off , the process of learning how to think critically is a progression that grows over time .
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