1. A charge nurse is supervising the care of a new nurse. Which action by a

new nurse indicates the charge nurse needs to intervene?

a. Making an ethical clinical decision

b. Making an informed clinical decision

c. Making a clinical decision in the patient’s best interest

d. Making a clinical decision based on previous shift assessments

ANS: D

The charge nurse must intervene when the nurse is using previous shift assessments

to make a decision; this is inappropriate. Nurses are responsible for assessing their

own patients to make decisions. Making informed, ethical decisions in the patient’s

best interest is practicing responsibly and does not need follow-up from the charge

nurse.

2. Which action demonstrates a nurse utilizing reflection to improve clinical

decision making?

a. Obtains data in an orderly fashion

b. Uses an objective approach in patient situations

Improves a plan of care while thinking back on interventions

c. effectiveness

Provides evidence-based explanations and research for care of

d. assigned patients

ANS: C

Reflection utilizes critical thinking when thinking back on the effectiveness of

interventions and how they were performed. It involves purposeful thinking back

or recalling a situation to discover its purpose or meaning. The other options are

not examples of reflection but do represent good nursing practice. Using an

objective approach and obtaining data in an orderly fashion do not involve

purposefully thinking back to discover the meaning or purpose of a situation.