Christina from NursingSchoolOfSuccess.com teaches a nine-question framework for critical thinking in nursing. The questions guide you from assessing a disorder and its labs through anticipating physician orders, identifying nursing actions, and planning patient education. She walks through a stroke example and explains how to use the framework while studying and at the bedside.
So you've heard the phrase critical thinking in nursing school about a gazillion times, right? But you're still confused about what it means. In this video, I'm gonna walk you through exactly how to critically think in nursing school and the nine key questions to ask in order to do it. What is up? My friend Christina here with nursingschoolofsuccess.com and I know that critical thinking is a total pain in nursing school, right? You think think you're doing it, but then you wonder if you're really doing it, and then you just get all sorts of confused about what it actually is. When I teach critical thinking to nursing students, I break it down into two main parts. The first part is putting all of the puzzle pieces together about everything you're learning and connecting the dots from lecture to clinical. And now the second part is planning ahead, particularly during your nursing school clinicals. Now, I've got nine key questions here you need to to help you critically think about what you're learning. And don't worry, I've listed them all out in a free cheat sheet that I've actually got for you. There's a link down below in the description for you to download that free critical thinking cheat sheet, print it off, use it to act clinical and during your study time to help you really connect all of the dots with everything that you're learning about. So these nine key questions are what do I need to assess and look for with this disorder, including lab values and signs and symptoms? Symptoms? How does this disorder impact a patient without comorbidities? This means that this is the only health concern disorder or disease that this patient has. The third question how does this disorder impact a patient with comorbidities? This means that they have another health concern, disease or disorder at the same time. What interventions are most likely to be ordered by the doctor for this patient? So what would you expect to see be ordered for this patient, including things like medications and lab draws? What interventions are within my scope of practice as a nurse to do without a doctor's order? So what can you do as the nurse to help this patient get better? Things like position changes and patient education, things like that. How do these interventions that we just listed impact a patient without comorbidities? So how would that medication or that position change or other nursing intervention or medical intervention impact the patient and their condition? How do these interventions impact a patient with comorbidities? So ask yourself how that medication or position change or other intervention impact the other illnesses that patient has? What patient and family education needs to occur and what other disorders or problems are commonly associated with this disorder? This list of critical thinking questions walks you through just about everything that you need to know about your med search disorders in nursing school. So let's talk about how to use this list as you're studying your med search disorders, walk through each of these critical thinking questions for each disorder and make sure that you can answer them. These questions will really help you connect the dots between all of the things that you're learning in nursing school. And if you're at clinical, walk through these questions just to make sure that you're understanding exactly how all of the pieces fit together with your patient. So what you need to assess for based on their situation, what other diagnoses they have, and how does their primary diagnosis impact their other diagnoses? What do you think the doctor will order for them and how will that affect their health? What education do you need to do with the patient and with their family? Ask all those questions. Now let's walk through an example of what this would look like. So if you're learning about stroke or if you're taking care of a patient who had a stroke, then you would walk through each of these critical thinking questions. What will you need to assess for? Well, you would definitely want to assess their mental status and their neurological function and safety factors such as swallowing or walking difficulty. If the patient had another health concern such as hypertension or heart disease, ask yourself how stroke and those other disorders connect. What interventions can you expect the doctor to order? Things like TPA or aspirin, which are medications or a CT scan. Now what things can can you do yourself without a doctor's order? Things like making sure that the patient is safe at all times by having them wear maybe non skid socks and making sure that their bed is lowered and that they sit up during and then after meals to prevent aspiration of food. And decide what patient and family education needs to occur. Like how to use assisted devices like walkers, what medications will they be getting and why, and what follow up appointments do they need to make? So as you're studying these things, use these nine critical thinking questions to help you put all the pieces together and connect all the dots with everything that you're learning during nursing school. Now if these critical thinking questions helped you out, write love in the comments below and hit that like button. And do not forget to subscribe to this channel and click the little bell icon so you don't miss out on any other nursing school tips and tricks and resources that we've got for you. Now go become the nurse that God created only you to be. Catch you in the next video.
