Essay on Critical Thinking and Evidence-Based Practice

One of the most essential aspects of doing a job well, no matter what job it is, is the ability to think critically about a situation. Finn (2011) defines critical thinking as â€Å"the ability and willingness to assess claims and make objective judgments on the basis of well-supported reasons and evidence rather than emotion or anecdote†. The difference between assessing a certain situation critically and assessing it without any evidence to corroborate your claims is that when you look at something critically, you are using your ability to â€Å"come up with the alternative explanations for events, think of research findings and apply new knowledge to social and personal problems† (Finn, 2011). When you can come up with other explanations using†¦show more content†¦Without the ability to critically think during the diagnosis process, nurses are denying their patients the care they need and deserve. The process of critically thinking about the patient†™s condition and best treatment method is the fastest and most convenient way of treating them. Before a nurse can help their patient â€Å"they must know ‘what is’ the problem, risk state or readiness for health promotion †¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Lunney, 2010). In order to actually help the patient, the nurse must use his/her CT skills to determine how best to execute proper care. According to Chitty Black (2011) a nurse who properly uses CT skills in her everyday practice does the following: Raises questions and problems and formulates them clearly and precisely; Gathers and assesses relevant information, using abstract ideas for interpretation; Arrives at conclusions and solutions that are well-reasoned and tests them against relevant standards; Is open-minded and recognizes alternative ways of seeing problems, and has the ability to assess the assumptions, implications, and consequences of alternative views of problems; [and] Communicates effectively with others as solutions to complex problems are formulated (p. 171-172). As indicated by Chitty Black, there are many things involved with thinking critically. 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