Chapter 07: Critical Thinking

Chapter 07: Critical Thinking

Complete Chapter Questions With Answers

Sample Questions Are Posted Below

MULTIPLE CHOICE

1. A registered nurse is caring for a 68-year-old patient in the trauma unit who had been involved in a motor vehicle accident. Although the patient denied pain, during the nurse’s assessment, she observed that he groaned when moving and was protective of his right arm. She believed the patient had pain and reported it to the health care provider who ordered a radiograph of his right arm. The radiograph revealed a fractured humerus. This is best described as which of the following?

ANS:   B

Critical thinking is the active, organized, cognitive process used to carefully examine one’s thinking and the thinking of others. It involves recognizing that an issue (e.g., patient problem) exists, analyzing information related to the issue (e.g., clinical data about a patient), evaluating information (including assumptions and evidence), and drawing conclusions.

PTS:    1                      DIF:    Cognitive Level: Analysis                  REF:    92

OBJ:    Discuss critical thinking skills used in nursing practice

TOP:    Nursing Process: Assessment

MSC:   Client Needs: Safe and Effective Care Environment

2. A registered nurse is caring for a postoperative patient whose systolic blood pressure has dropped 10 points during his shift. He remembers that this was similar to a situation that happened in the past when the patient developed an internal bleed. The nurse’s thoughts are best described as which of the following?

ANS:   D

Reflection is a part of critical thinking that involves the process of purposefully thinking about or recalling a situation to discover its purpose or meaning.

PTS:    1                      DIF:    Cognitive Level: Analysis                  REF:    90

OBJ:    Discuss critical thinking skills used in nursing practice

TOP:    Nursing Process: Assessment

MSC:   Client Needs: Safe and Effective Care Environment

3. Blair, a student nurse, is assisting a nurse with admitting a 73-year-old woman with a fractured ulna and radius to the trauma unit of the hospital. The patient’s daughter and son-in-law are with her. Blair notices that the patient does not make eye contact when answering questions and she feels that something is not right about the situation. This can best be explained by which of the following?

ANS:   A

Intuition is the inner sensing or “gut feeling” that something is so. For example, a nurse walks into a patient’s room and, by looking at the patient’s appearance without the benefit of a thorough assessment, senses that he or she has worsened physically. Intuition is a common experience that many people have when interacting with their environments.

PTS:    1                      DIF:    Cognitive Level: Application             REF:    91-92

OBJ:    Discuss critical thinking skills used in nursing practice

TOP:    Nursing Process: Assessment

MSC:   Client Needs: Safe and Effective Care Environment

4. A student nurse is with a medical unit during this clinical rotation. She is administering an enema with her instructor in the room. The patient states that they can no longer hold the enema solution. The student nurse acknowledges the patient’s request and begins to tell the patient that he can go to the bathroom to expel the enema. The instructor suggests that the patient wait a few minutes to give the enema solution time to be absorbed into the bowel. In this situation the student nurse demonstrates what level of critical thinking according to Kataoka-Yahiro and Saylor’s model?

ANS:   A

At the basic level of critical thinking a learner trusts that experts have the right answers for every problem. Thinking is concrete and based on a set of rules or principles.

PTS:    1                      DIF:    Cognitive Level: Analysis                  REF:    92

OBJ:    Describe the components of a critical thinking model for clinical decision making

TOP:    Nursing Process: Assessment

MSC:   Client Needs: Safe and Effective Care Environment