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Making decisions: nursing practices in critical care
journal contribution
posted on 2001-01-01, 00:00 authored by Judy CurreyJudy Currey, Linda Worrall-CarterThis article reports the types and complexity level of decisions made in everyday clinical practice by critical care nurses. It also reports factors that influence the complexity of those decisions. A combination of methods were chosen for the two phase study. In the first phase, 12 qualified critical care nurses documented decisions (over a 2 hour period) on a clinical decision recording form designed by the researcher. In the second phase, participants attended a semi-structured focus group.
From the analysis, five types of decisions were identified; assessment, intervention, organisation, communication and education. In addition to these documented decisions, three factors that influenced decision complexity were identified from a thematic analysis of the transcribed interviews; communication, patient related and properties of the decision. Nurses reported that communication decisions were the most difficult to make. However, the concept of nurses knowing the patient reduced the level of decision complexity. It is suggested that this has important implications for decision making practices of nurses working in the area of critical care and potentially for patient outcomes.
From the analysis, five types of decisions were identified; assessment, intervention, organisation, communication and education. In addition to these documented decisions, three factors that influenced decision complexity were identified from a thematic analysis of the transcribed interviews; communication, patient related and properties of the decision. Nurses reported that communication decisions were the most difficult to make. However, the concept of nurses knowing the patient reduced the level of decision complexity. It is suggested that this has important implications for decision making practices of nurses working in the area of critical care and potentially for patient outcomes.
History
Journal
Australian critical careVolume
14Issue
3Pagination
127 - 131Publisher
Australian College of Critical Care NursesLocation
Carlton, Vic.Publisher DOI
ISSN
1036-7314eISSN
1878-1721Language
engPublication classification
C1.1 Refereed article in a scholarly journalUsage metrics
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