Transcript: Critical thinking as a nurse card activity

Card 1

Front of card:

The grumpy patient.

Back of card:

A patient is grumpy and doesn’t greet their nurse. Using critical thinking, the nurse might remind themselves that it’s not personal, and the patient is likely upset because of the situation they are in. The nurse acts as a detective and asks questions to gain more information and find a solution.

E.g. Is the patient acting this way because they are in pain? Have they been unable to sleep?

Card 2

Front of card:

The mistake.

Back of card:

A graduate nurse makes a mistake which negatively affects a patient. The nurse uses critical thinking to reflect on the incident, asking themselves questions to figure out how it happened and how they can prevent it from happening again.

E.g.

Q: I didn’t feel confident doing the procedure, so why didn’t I ask for help?

A: everyone was busy, and I was too embarrassed to ask for help.

Q: Would asking for help have been worse than making this mistake?

A: No. In future, I will ask for help regardless of my pride.

Card 3

Front of card:

The personal bias.

Back of card:

A nurse with a busy caseload is assigned a patient whose values and beliefs are very different to those of the nurse. The nurse might be tempted to spend less time with this patient as they feel upset and uncomfortable around the patient. But the nurse reminds themselves that this is an unhelpful bias when it comes to treating a patient, and that they must set aside personal beliefs and think critically as a health professional. The nurse will then make a conscious effort to divide time between patients based on their health needs.