CHAPTER 6 NURSING PROCESS AND

CRITICAL THINKING

11.DESCRIBE THE USE OF CLINICAL PATHWAYS IN MANAGED CARE

Managed care is a health care system that provides control over health care services for a specific group of individuals in attempts to control cost. Clinical pathway is a multidisciplinary plan that schedules clinical interventions over an anticipated time frame for high-risk, high-volume, high-cost types of cases.

Some synonyms that are used for clinical pathways are critical pathways, multidisciplinary action plans, action plans, and care maps.

Clinical pathways include elements such as diagnostic tests, treatments, activities, medications, consultations, education, daily outcomes, and discharge planning.

12.DISCUSS CRITICAL THINKING IN NURSING Critical thinking will lead you through decision making. One consideration is the need for accuracy in the results.

it is crucial for nurses to not only be able to perform skills, but also to think about what he or she is doing. Nurses use a knowledge base to make decisions, generate new ideas, and solve problems.

13. DEFINE EVIDENCED-BASED PRACTICE Today's nursing practice emphasizes the use of research to determine best practices, or the interventions or approaches to patient care that will have the best impact on patient outcomes.

In contrast, professionals in the past used educational knowledge , consultation with peers and specialists , and their own experiences to make decisions about patient care and to select interventions .

PLANNING During the planning phase of the nursing process, the nurse establishes priorities of care, select and convert nursing interventions into nursing orders, and communicate the plan of care using standardized languages or recognized terminology to document the plan.

Priorities must be established to provide care for each patient. Once you have developed a list of nursing diagnoses, you will be able to rank the problems in order of importance for the patients life and health. For example, risk for ineffective airway clearance might be prioritized higher than an actual problem of constipation.

CRITICAL THINKING•Critical thinkers think with a purpose. Critical thinking is a complex process, and no single simple definition explains all aspects of critical thinking.

•Nurses need to think critically. Critical thinking leads the nurse through the decision making process. It is crucial for nurses to not only be able to perform skills but also to think about what he or she is doing.

• Knowledge of psychology, anatomy, physiology, pharmacology, and other related course related course work helps you gain the scientific knowledge base to think critically. Characteristics of critical thinkers•use reason than prejudice, self interest,or fear•reflect or think about what is being learned critical thinkers realize that they do not know everything

CREDITSMaika CeusChristina CarriereElena NoradinAnnaleah Payne