Clinical Decision Making
There has been an increasing need for healthcare professionals to make safe and informed decisions following advances in clinical intervention and medical complexities due to the ageing population with associate co-commodities (). Decision-making pervades in all clinical care and activities, and clinical decisions have profound and direct effect on patient safety, care and outcome. Clinical decision-making (CDM) involves healthcare professionals applying clinical judgment to select the optimal evidence-based option to control risks and provide high-quality care for patients (Standing 2014).
This essay discusses the evidence for and against a simple clinical decision within a complex care. The clinical decision is for a newly qualified nurse …show more content…
Nevertheless, in clinical practice, these models provide a structure that can facilitate effective decision-making (Bulechek et al, 2013). One of the contemporary understanding of clinical reasoning is based on the dual process theory (Kahneman 2011): non-analytical and analytical, also referred to system one and system two respectively. This theory is a widely recognised paradigm of decision making (Balogh et al., 2016). System one processing is rapid, intuitive and is based on pattern recognition (Kahneman, 2011). It is often effective, however, highly prone to cognitive error, and the quality is usually based on healthcare professional’s’ education and experience (Croskerry et al., 2013). Similarly, Benner’s (1984) model, “from novice to expert”, a continually recognised model within clinical decision, also promotes intuition-based approach. Nonetheless, with the proviso that it can be used only by experienced healthcare professionals (Muir, 2010). On the contrary, system 2 processing is slow, logic and guided by clinical reasoning (Balogh et al., 2016 & Kahneman, 2011). Clinical intervention by system 2 is likely to be adopted in a novel situation, by novice clinician with minimal knowledge or experience or when task presented is difficult (Web et al.,
This essay discusses the evidence for and against a simple clinical decision within a complex care. The clinical decision is for a newly qualified nurse …show more content…
Nevertheless, in clinical practice, these models provide a structure that can facilitate effective decision-making (Bulechek et al, 2013). One of the contemporary understanding of clinical reasoning is based on the dual process theory (Kahneman 2011): non-analytical and analytical, also referred to system one and system two respectively. This theory is a widely recognised paradigm of decision making (Balogh et al., 2016). System one processing is rapid, intuitive and is based on pattern recognition (Kahneman, 2011). It is often effective, however, highly prone to cognitive error, and the quality is usually based on healthcare professional’s’ education and experience (Croskerry et al., 2013). Similarly, Benner’s (1984) model, “from novice to expert”, a continually recognised model within clinical decision, also promotes intuition-based approach. Nonetheless, with the proviso that it can be used only by experienced healthcare professionals (Muir, 2010). On the contrary, system 2 processing is slow, logic and guided by clinical reasoning (Balogh et al., 2016 & Kahneman, 2011). Clinical intervention by system 2 is likely to be adopted in a novel situation, by novice clinician with minimal knowledge or experience or when task presented is difficult (Web et al.,