Exam 4: Critical Thinking and Decision-Making Skills

A team consisting of preoperative, operative, and postoperative health care professionals and ancillary staff is examining the turnaround time from the preoperative area to discharge for patients having tonsillectomies. The goal is to decrease waiting times for clients. Which of the following techniques would delineate processes that are delaying time for patients having tonsillectomies?

Family members of a dying patient are arguing about terminating life support. The nurse educates the two opposing groups individually about terminating life support and discusses the dying process. This is an example of:

What is the definition of the process of making choices that will provide maximum benefit?

The marketing department of a major children's hospital is hosting a fund-raiser for the local Ronald McDonald House. In the past, fund-raisers were successful when scheduled in the spring. This year, the fund-raiser is scheduled in the fall, when the city and several local organizations have community festivals. The first fund-raiser was scheduled 10 years ago in the fall and raised $50,000, only one eighth of the goal. This depicts an example of which of the following decision-making distortions?

How is leadership at the staff nurse level exemplified?

A staff registered nurse (RN) has been struggling with the delivery system from central supply. He documents a delay of 1 to 3 hours from the time that the order is sent to central supply to the time that the requested equipment is sent to the floor. The RN asks, "Why does a central supply unit need to service the entire hospital? Why not consider a decentralized central supply established for each floor?" This is an example of what type of thinking?

Utilizing the DECIDE acronym for the process of decision making, what are the first and final steps in the process (select two that apply)?

A nationwide community health care nursing organization has formed a team to assist with disaster victim relocation and to plan for psychological, physical, and emotional needs that the victims may encounter. In which stage of decision making is this group?

A family member of a patient files a complaint that her mother's dentures were lost when the patient was transferred from one unit to another. The risk management department interviews the patient and the staff nurses who cared for the patient. Which of the following problem-solving techniques was used?

Nursing students are working on a long-term care unit at a new clinical site. The instructor is concerned because the clinical site is missing some needed components. In a discussion with the director of nursing, it is determined that the instructor should document the expected and actual outcomes of the experience and compare them. This type of decision making is made utilizing (the):

Nurses working on the intermediate care unit have had many hours of overtime in the last 6 months. Before forming a team, the nurse manager gathers data about patient condition severity, staffing ratios, educational levels of staff, and personality mixes on each shift. What level of decision making is this process?

A staff RN is leading a quality improvement team on the care of the total hip replacement patient. The issue is an increased length of stay from 1 year ago. The nurse asks team members to reframe the problem statement from their perspective. Twenty different problem statements were developed. The team is focusing on four of the problem statements. This is an example of which of the following techniques?

An intravenous infusion center is considering switching intravenous pumps to another vendor. A team of nurses is gathered to examine the benefits and uses and to conduct a cost analysis of various intravenous pumps. After thoroughly reviewing the data and piloting several intravenous pumps, the team and the nurse leader vote to determine which pumps to use. This example depicts which of the following decision styles?

Nurses in clinical practice need to be able to make decisions based on the needs of the client, situations, or practice problems. Which of the following statements are true regarding critical thinking in nursing (select all that apply)?

Effective managers utilize group problem solving to discuss and participate in solving a problem. Which are examples of decision-making strategies that are useful in groups (select all that apply)?

A patient has arrived at the critical care unit with a head injury. On admission, the patient is talking and is a little drowsy but oriented. Two hours later, the nurse discovers that the patient is talking at a rapid pace and keeps repeating his words. Which of the following examples best depicts Benner's stages and appropriate critical-thinking processes in this situation?

Which of the following problem definitions is matched with an accurate example?

A disaster team is planning strategies to use in the event of multiple catastrophes. Various questions are posed such as, "If we lost all electricity in Kent County, what challenges would we face in providing care? If the Grand River flooded, which institutions would not be available for health care? What other facilities could be used as a backup system? Which roadways would be available in the event of a flood?" This is an example of which of the following decision-making strategies?

A multidisciplinary team makes a decision to develop a plan for the use of thrombolytics in the emergency medical service system. Questions are asked such as, "Is the client a candidate for thrombolytic therapy? Does the client have a history of gastrointestinal bleeding? Has the client ever had a stroke? Does the client have any bleeding disorders?" Which of the following decision-making strategies would work best in this situation?

A continuous quality improvement team has considered all aspects of a decision to purchase two new computed tomography scanners to meet the needs of the community. The team decides to go with the less expensive, larger machines with few additional capabilities because of current budget restraints, even though it will mean purchasing newer smaller models with more capabilities in the future when moving to a new hospital in 3 years. This decision is known as a(n) _____ decision.