Critical Thinking
Critical Thinking Case Study
Read the following case study:
You are a staff nurse working in an intensive care unit and assigned to care for a 75-year-old American Indian man who had coronary artery bypass graft surgery four days ago. The patient has a history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbated by heavy smoking. His postoperative course has been difficult, and he has suffered a number of setbacks. Staff members, despite their diligent efforts, have not been able to wean him off the ventilator since the surgery. He has required frequent suctioning throughout the shift, and he is being evaluated for the development of ventilator-associated pneumonia.
Today, when returning from lunch, you observed that an experienced nurse was suctioning your patient. His secretions were thick, and you observed that the nurse was instilling saline into the patient’s endotracheal tube as she was suctioning him. The patient turned red and began coughing, and it was obvious he was in distress.
In one or two sentences, state the measurable nursing outcome desired related to the improvement of the patient’s condition. Example: Patient will have a respiratory rate less than 30 breaths per minute….
Identify a nursing theory to align with a plan of care to improve this patient’s outcome.
Define the nursing theory concepts and align each to nursing practice, critical thinking, and clinical decision-making processes and how this can improve the nursing care plan.
Format your assumptions and findings of the theory-practice gap in a document to show alignment of nursing theory and its relation to the nursing process (including alignment with critical thinking and clinical decision making) for an improved nursing care plan.
Access the College of Education Technology Resource Library to locate visual representation resources.
- Click Web Tools
- Click Collaboration & Productivity
Submit your assignment.
