It is defined as informed, purposeful, and outcome-focused
thinking that requires the ability to identify problems, issues,
and risks and make judgments based on evidence.
The skills that we need in order to be able to think critically
are varied and include observation, analysis, interpretation,
reflection, evaluation, inference, explanation, problem
solving, and decision making.
Clinical reasoning
Clinical reasoning is defined as “the
cognitive processes and strategies that
nurses use to understand the significance of
patient data, to identify and diagnose actual or potential patient
problems, to make clinical decisions to assist in
problem resolution, and to achieve positive patient outcomes”.