Institute:Office of National Coordinator (ONC) Workforce Training Curriculum
Component:The Culture of Health Care
Unit:Nursing Care Processes
Lecture:Nursing process including clinical judgment and patient assessment; legal and societal expectations; and roles in improving patient care
Slide content:Examples of Clinical Decisions A nurse modifies breastfeeding recommendations to improve a patients well-being A nurse chooses an intervention that is least likely to harm a hospitalized infant 10
Slide notes:Many nurses make a wide variety of clinical decisions every day. For example, in one case, a new mother was exhausted as a result of breastfeeding and felt guilty that she could not keep up with the guidelines she had been given. Her nurse shortened the recommended time that the mother should breastfeed. This nurse decided that improving the mothers well-being was more important than adhering to the hospitals breastfeeding guidelines. A nurse might also use clinical decision-making skills to choose between several different options for patient care. For example, a researcher documented a situation in which a nurse had to respond to a breathing problem in a hospitalized newborn. The nurse chose a type of intervention that was least likely to interfere with recent surgery the infant had undergone. 10