Clinical decision-making processes in perioperative nursing

C B Parker1, P Minick, C C Kee

  • 1Emory HealthCare/Crawford Long Hospital, Atlanta, USA.

AORN Journal
|August 3, 1999
PubMed

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to reveal the processes of clinical decision making by expert perioperative nurses. Six nurses with a minimum of five years experience who considered themselves to be experts in OR nursing were asked to describe perioperative situations in which they had made a difference in patient outcomes. In every situation described, an intricate pattern of concern was present and associated with further assessments. The pattern was labeled Seeing the big picture: Engendered through caring. This study provides initial documentation to support how RNs make critical contributions to the quality of perioperative patient care.

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