ATI LPN
Brunner & Suddarth's Textbook of Medical-Surgical Nursing 14e (Hinkle 2017)
Chapter 3 : Critical Thinking, Ethical Decision Making and the Nursing Process Questions
Question 1 of 5
Achieving adequate pain management for a postoperative patient will require sophisticated critical thinking skills by the nurse. What are the potential benefits of critical thinking in nursing?
Correct Answer: A,C,D,E
Rationale: Independent judgments and decisions evolve from a sound knowledge base and the ability to synthesize information within the context in which it is presented. Critical thinking enhances clinical decision making, helping to identify patient needs and the best nursing actions that will assist patients in meeting those needs. Critical thinking does not normally focus on identify patient desires; these would be identified by asking the patient.
Question 2 of 5
A nurse is unsure how best to respond to a patients vague complaint of feeling off. The nurse is attempting to apply the principles of critical thinking, including metacognition. How can the nurse best foster metacognition?
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Critical thinking includes metacognition, the examination of ones own reasoning or thought processes, to help refine thinking skills. Metacognition is not characterized by eliciting input from others or evaluating previous responses.
Question 3 of 5
The nursing instructor cites a list of skills that support critical thinking in clinical situations. The nurse should describe skills in which of the following domains?
Correct Answer: B,C,E
Rationale: Skills needed in critical thinking include interpretation, analysis, evaluation, inference, explanation, and self-regulation. Self-esteem and autonomy would not be on the list because they are not skills.
Question 4 of 5
The nurse is providing care for a patient with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The nurses most recent assessment reveals an SaO2 of 89%. The nurse is aware that part of critical thinking is determining the significance of data that have been gathered. What characteristic of critical thinking is used in determining the best response to this assessment finding?
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: Nurses use interpretation to determine the significance of data that are gathered. This specific process is not described as extrapolation, inference, or characterization.
Question 5 of 5
A nurse is admitting a new patient to the medical unit. During the initial nursing assessment, the nurse has asked many supplementary open-ended questions while gathering information about the new patient. What is the nurse achieving through this approach?
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: Critical thinkers validate the information presented to make sure that it is accurate (not just supposition or opinion), that it makes sense, and that it is based on fact and evidence. The nurse is not interpreting, evaluating, or assessing the information the patient has given.