title: Nurses' Clinical Judgment Development: A Qualitative Research in Iran.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Clinical judgment development is necessary because it leads to appropriate nursing diagnoses, clinical decision-making and health promotion.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  In this study we explored the process of Iranian nurses' development in clinical judgment.
  
  
  METHODS
  This qualitative study was conducted in 2013 at hospitals of Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences, located in the Sanandaj city of Iran. The data were collected based on semi-structured interviews and the study included 24 participants. Data analysis was carried out concurrently with data collection using the grounded theory method.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The study participants' main concern was 'being non-professional in clinical judgment'. In response to this concern, they were struggling for gaining professional autonomy, striving for integrating clinical judgment skills, scrambling to make effective educational interventions and striving for professional and inter professional collaboration in clinical judgment. The core category was 'struggling for becoming professional in clinical judgment development'. When nurses were supported professionally, they were able to develop their professional clinical judgment.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The findings of this study provided critical information about nurses' professionalization in clinical judgment. Accordingly, the participants adopted different strategies to develop their clinical judgment ability. Integrating these strategies into nursing theory and clinical education can improve nurses' clinical judgment ability.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, IR Iran ; Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences, Sanandaj, IR Iran.
authors.forename: Jamal
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Seidi
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, IR 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, IR Iran.
authors.forename: Mahvash
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Salsali
keywords: Iran; Judgment; Nurse; Qualitative Research