Teaching Clinical Reasoning Piece by Piece: A Clinical Reasoning Concept-Based Learning Method

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Clinical Reasoning Development
• Healthcare Professional Training

Background:

• Clinical reasoning is crucial in nursing, but teaching and evaluation remain challenging for nurse educators.
• Existing strategies often fall short in effectively developing clinical reasoning skills, especially in clinical settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce a novel concept-based clinical reasoning teaching method for nursing students.
• To address the difficulties nurse educators face in teaching and assessing clinical reasoning.

Main Methods:

• Development of a concept-based teaching method incorporating weekly themes, lessons, and activities.
• Adaptation of Tanner's clinical judgment model and Lasater's Clinical Judgment Rubric into the teaching method.

Main Results:

• The method provides a structured and consistent approach to learning and teaching clinical reasoning.
• It enhances opportunities for student reflection, instructor feedback, and conceptual discussion.
• Clinical education was transformed, making clinical reasoning a tangible aspect of nursing practice.

Conclusions:

• Nurse faculty must equip future nurses with essential "thinking-in-action" abilities.
• The proposed concept-based clinical reasoning teaching method offers a viable solution for enhancing nursing education.