Critical Thinking and Clinical Judgment: Strategies for Development

Author: Ellie Wagner, DNP, RN

Dr. Ellie Wagner has been a nurse for over 28 years, focusing her career on nursing education, adult medical-surgical care, and critical care nursing. Her specialties include clinical and didactic instruction, curriculum development & planning, clinical judgment education, nursing program development, simulation, teaching innovations, and online education.

Learning Objectives:

1. Review Next Generation NCLEX structure and purpose.
2. Define critical thinking, clinical reasoning, and clinical judgment.
3. Describe the clinical judgment measurement model and how it supports clinical judgment development.
4. Outline active learning strategies to promote the development of critical thinking and clinical judgment.
5. Identify methods to assess/promote/evaluate critical thinking and clinical judgment.
6. Utilize an unfolding case study to develop critical thinking and clinical judgment.

Earned Credit Hours: 1.00