Intuition in Clinical Decision Making: Differences Among Practicing Nurses

To examine the relationships and differences in the use of intuition among three categories of practicing nurses from various clinical units at a medical center in the Midwest.

Descriptive, correlational, cross-sectional, prospective design.

Three categories of nurses were based on the clinical unit: medical/surgical nurses ( n = 42), step-down/progressive care nurses ( n = 32), and critical care nurses ( n = 24). Participants were e-mailed the Rew Intuitive Judgment Scale (RIJS) via their employee e-mail to measure intuition in clinical practice. Participants were also asked to rate themselves according to Benner's (novice to expert) proficiency levels.

Nurses practicing at higher self-reported proficiency levels, as defined by Benner, scored higher on the RIJS. More years of clinical experience were associated with higher self-reported levels of nursing proficiency and higher scores on the RIJS. There were no differences in intuition scores among the three categories of nurses.

Nurses have many options, such as the nursing process, evidence-based clinical decision-making pathways, protocols, and intuition to aid them in the clinical decision-making process. Nurse educators and development professionals have a responsibility to recognize and embrace the multiple thought processes used by the nurse to better the nursing profession and positively affect patient outcomes.