Critical Thinking for NCLEX

1 Sept 2020 · 4 min

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3:32

In this concise instructional video, the presenter delivers an expert NCLEX tip that equates critical thinking with the nursing process. She walks viewers through each sequential step: (1) observing the patient and chart, (2) interpreting data by spotting patterns and relationships, (3) transferring knowledge to identify actual and potential problems, (4) focusing on the primary problem and assessing risk, (5) deciding on appropriate interventions, (6) applying standards of care, (7) carrying out the planned actions, and (8) evaluating whether the intended outcomes were achieved. By framing critical thinking as this familiar eight‑step workflow, the video aims to help nursing students internalize a practical decision‑making framework for both patient care and NCLEX test‑taking, positioning mastery of the nursing process as a shortcut to exam success.

Chapters

Hi everyone. I wanted to come on and share an Expert NCLEX tip with all of you today on critical thinking. Now, we learn about critical thinking in nursing school. We hear it said 1,000 times by our professors, but do we leave nursing school really understanding what critical thinking means for nurses? Well, today I'm gonna share with you exactly what you need to do in order to critically think. The first thing that you need to do in order to critically think is to be able to observe. You need to understand what's going on. You need to be able to take a peek at your patient or look in the chart. You need to be able to ask questions. So observing is really important for you to start the process of critical thinking. Then you have to be able to take all of that information that you have collected and make sense of it. You have to look for patterns and relationships. You have to ask yourself, does this make sense? What does this mean for my patient? The next step in critical thinking is to then transfer your knowledge from one situation to another. So what does this mean for the patient? What are the actual problems that the patient's having? What are some potential problems that the patient is having? Can you identify what it is that you need to focus on. What is your patient at risk for? What is actually happening with them? So when you ask all those questions, then you can assign what's going on with your patient. So now you have your focus. This is the problem you need to work on. The next step in critical thinking is to then decide what are you going to do about it. Now that you've identified the problem, you have to decide what's next. So you decide, uh, if your patient is having low blood pressure then you need to try to figure out what it is that you can do to elevate that low blood pressure so that you can get them to a closer normal. Then after that, you go through and you do all of the things that you need to do. You have to be able to apply what you've learned. So this is thinking about all of the things that you know to be true about the standards of care for nursing practice. So then you apply what you've learned, and then you carry out the actions necessary to meet the needs of the patient. And then after you spend all that time doing all of that, then you have to come back and ask yourself, have I met the needs of the patient? So you have to, you know, ask, did I do what I intended to do? Have we met the anticipated outcome? Did I help my patient's blood pressure increase? So if this sounds familiar to you, You would be correct. Critical thinking is the nursing process. So just think about it. When you're answering test questions to providing patient care, either way, you're using the nursing process to make decisions about what's going on, what that means, what you should do about it, and whether or not you've answered or met the needs of the patient correctly. So I hope this NCLEX tip helps you understand that critical thinking and the nursing process is the same thing. And once you master that concept, you'll be one step closer to NCLEX success. I hope you enjoyed this tip, and I can't wait to help you or someone you know develop strategies for NCLEX success. Take care.