The reason critical thinking is so important in nursing is based on what nursing does as a profession. Because we deal with people, there is much we must take into consideration and there are direct consequences to our nursing actions.

Here are some strategies for you to use to improve your critical thinking:

• Clarify your own thinking. Summarize in your own words what others have said.
• Stick to the point. Look out for fragmented thinking, or thinking that leaps about with no logical connection.
• Value questions. Listen to how your patients ask questions, when they ask questions, and when they do not ask questions. You must also ask questions in order to understand and effectively deal with your environment. A well-cultivated critical thinker in nursing is able to both raise vital questions and formulate them clearly.

Source: Stressed Out About Your First Year of Nursing, HCPro Inc., 2006. For more information on our series of Stressed Out books, visit www.stressedoutnurses.com