Critical thinking skills essential to nursing practice

Critical Thinking in Nursing

Critical thinking is essential to the nursing profession. This is especially so as the profession, more than most others, deal with the crises faced by humanity. The nursing profession is focused upon helping people deal not only with their physical problems, but also with the emotional and mental crises that go with these. It is therefore extremely important for the nursing professional to maintain a high level of critical thinking even in the face of the stress, anxiety and fatigue that is more often than not part of the job.

The core critical thinking skills identified by Facione (2005, p.4) include analysis, inference, explanation, interpretation, self-regulation and analysis. In working with patients, these are essential skills that the nurse uses in comforting and caring for the ill and their families. Analysis, inference and interpretation then are used in terms of the medical conditions and decisions facing nurses. Complex cases where conclusions need to be drawn in terms of illness and treatment are part of this process. Explanation is used in terms of the patient and his or her family, where the nurse makes critical decisions about how to explain the illness to non-professionals.

Self-regulation and analysis are interpersonal skills used by the nurse to convey potentially upsetting news, or to analyze the nurse's own behavior and professionalism in his or her nursing duties.