title: Professional support as a facilitator to the development of Iranian nurses' clinical judgment: A content analysis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Nurses' clinical judgment development is essential for the professional nursing practice. The aim of this study was to explore the facilitators to the development of Iranian nurses' clinical judgment.
  
  
  METHODS
  A qualitative design using conventional content analysis method was employed in the study. A purposive sample of 24 participants was recruited from three hospitals located at Sanandaj, Iran. Study data were collected in 2013 by using semi-structured individual interviews. A content analysis approach was used to analyze the study data and MAXQDA was used for coding and categorizing the data.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The main theme of the study was "professional support as a facilitator to the development of nurse's clinical judgment." The sub-themes of this main theme included "provision of direct support to nurses" and "provision of clinical judgment resources." The first sub-theme consisted of different types of managerial, clinical, educational, and social supports. The two categories of the second sub-theme included the provision of necessary clinical evidence and the provision of medical equipments.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The study findings highlighted the importance of providing nurses with adequate professional support for facilitating the development of their clinical judgment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing, School of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran, Present Address: Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences, Sanandaj, Iran.
authors.forename: Jamal
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Seidi
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing, School of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Fatemeh
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Alhani
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical and Surgical Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Mahvash
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Salsali
keywords: Clinical; Iran; content analysis; judgment; nursing; professional; qualitative study; support