title: Using online exercises and patient simulation to improve students' clinical decision-making.
abstract: Faced with increasingly complex clinical situations, nurses must respond with accurate clinical judgment. But del Bueno (2005) reports that only 35 percent of new graduate nurses exhibit entry-level expectations of the necessary critical-thinking skills. Croskerry (2003) argues that clinicians' education should be directed at developing cognitive strategies that reduce errors in clinical decision-making. A challenge for nurse educators is finding activities to help students analyze their thinking as they address clinical problems. The author describes an assignment, given to third-year baccalaureate students, that used both online learning and high-fidelity patient simulation. Through discussions with instructors and peers, as well as personal reflection, students gained insight into both their sound and faulty critical thinking and clinical decisions.
authors.affiliation: University of Akron College of Nursing, Akron, Ohio, USA. guhde@uakron.edu
authors.forename: Jacqueline
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Guhde
mesh_terms: D003194:Computer-Assisted Instruction / Q000379:methods*; D004508:Education, Nursing, Baccalaureate / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D015390:Gastric Bypass / Q000451:nursing; D006801:Humans; D008348:Manikins; D008875:Middle Aged; D009862:Online Systems; D011182:Postoperative Care / Q000451:nursing; D015397:Program Evaluation; D014481:United States