The alignment of nursing actions to the characteristics of clinical judgement of undergraduate student nurses

Objective: Clinical judgement has long been an important component of safe and effective nursing care. However, despite extensive research being conducted in this area it remains difficult to articulate and observe clinical judgement in action. Nursing actions could reflect the characteristics of clinical judgement, yet this alignment has not previously been reported in the literature. Aim: The aim of the study was to identify whether the nursing actions performed could be aligned with the characteristics of clinical judgement. Methods: The setting for this study was a simulation laboratory housing a high-fidelity manikin in a large Australian university. The study used a descriptive method collecting both qualitative and quantitative data. Data was collected using a Multiple-Choice Questionnaire (MCQ), a checklist of nursing actions and associated characteristics of clinical judgement and post simulation interviews were audio recorded. Results: The nursing actions could be clearly aligned the 12 characteristics of clinical judgement. In this study it was difficult to differentiate between two of the characteristics: experiential knowledge and practical knowledge. Conclusions: Aligning the nursing actions to the characteristics of clinical judgement could assist in educating students to develop their clinical judgement. The use of aligning nursing actions to the characteristics could be a more accurate way of observing clinical judgement in action