[Concept analysis of intuition]

From experience and observation of decision-making in intensive care units, the following has been observed in respect of clinical decision-making. Nurses in intensive care units take clinical decisions they can justify, and other decisions they cannot justify. Nurses in intensive care units sometimes refer to the unjustified clinical decisions as gut-feelings or intuition. The observation regarding clinical decision-making further indicates that clinical decision-making, based on intuition is effective and contributes to better and more complete problem-solving capabilities in intensive care units. From the preceding problem statement the following question arose, namely: What is intuition? The objective of the study is to analyze the concept intuition. A philosophical analytical research design was implemented in order to reach this objective. The concept intuition was analyzed by means of concept-analysis. The goal of concept analyses was to respectively describe the characteristics of intuition and developing a theoretical definition for the study regarding these characteristics. From the concept-analysis of intuition the following categories and characteristics of intuition realized namely situational factors of intuition, intuition as a process and intuition as a product. The situational factors of intuition refer to the factors that must be in place in order for intuition to occur, namely knowledge and experience, empathy, as well as incomplete data and uncertain situations. The second group characteristics of intuition has to do with the process of intuition, which is speedy, more synthetical-analogical than analytical, interpretative, holistic, irrational and goal-directed. The third category characteristics of intuition has to do with intuition as a product which include problem-solving and the rational justification of intuition by means of reflection.