Observations, confirmations and strategies – useful tools in decision‐making process for nurses in practice?

Abstract

The aim of the study was to describe how nurses make decisions on measures in clinical practice. The data-collection method consisted of audio-taped interviews with six nurses. The interviews were then transcribed verbatim. The questions in the interviews were based on nursing situations observed earlier when the nurses initiated and implemented patient-related measures and the focus was on the nurses' experience of decision making. A content analysis was performed. The results show that the nurses' decisions on measures were based on three themes: observation of cues related to the patient's situation, confirmation of information gathered and implementation of action strategies. The results are discussed in relation to earlier empirical research on decision-making activities in the nurse's clinical practice and the nurse's utilization of knowledge during the decision-making process. It is concluded that the nurse's awareness of the patient's situation, together with a well-founded basis for decisions, can have positive effects on the nursing care provided by the nurse.

Comparison of second-degree and traditional baccalaureate nursing students’ performance in managing acute patient deterioration events

“…The characteristics of the stimuli in the simulated task environment and their relationship to performance have been clearly documented in the literature. [35][36][37] The results of the current study mirror those seen in studies of nurses with different levels of experience (e.g., novice versus expert), with the performance by the second-degree students reflecting the performance of more experienced practitioners. [35,38] Overall, the performance differences seen between the two groups are supportive of the notion that second-degree programs develop individuals with key advantages in decision-making capacity.…”

Intensive Care Unit Nurses' Uncertainty and Patient Safety Culture

“…Whereas (O'Connell, 2000) found that nurses make sense of the situation to minimize uncertainty by adapting work practices through collecting required information and prioritize patient care plan. While (Cioffi, 1998;Benner et al, 1999;and Hedberg & Larsson, 2003) found that nurses rely on experience to make their clinical decisions when facing uncertain situation. Adding to that (Carr et al, 2001) found that to buffer the effect of uncertainty nurses participate patients in decision-making if collaboration with colleagues was not available.…”

“…Adding to that (Carr et al, 2001) found that to buffer the effect of uncertainty nurses participate patients in decision-making if collaboration with colleagues was not available. Furthermore (Hedberg and Larsson, 2003) found that collaboration with colleagues and information gathering reduce nurses' uncertainty. Also (Vaismoradi et al, 2011) revealed that losing sensitivity and avoiding trouble practice were main strategies nurses used to deal with uncertain situations in practice.…”

Applying Even-Swap Method to Structurally Enhance the Process of Intuition Decision-Making

“…For example, Smith (1988) employed six purposively selected nurses, Hedberg and Larsson (2003) employed six samples in their study. However, increasing the sample size will enrich and deepen discussions of intuitive decision-making processes.…”