The Safe Care Framework™: A practical tool for critical thinking

Safe, effective and ethical clinical decision-making in nursing depends on critical thinking, yet there is no consensus on the educational strategies that are most effective in developing and refining this foundational skill. A qualitative inquiry among graduating Bachelor of Science in Nursing students sought to determine whether one such educational strategy, an operationalized critical thinking framework, would assist nursing students to better understand acute care patients' complex profiles. The Safe Care Framework™, consisting of the 'Concept Map Template' and the 'Priority Setting Tool Template', was developed using a constructivist pedagogical approach. The framework illustrates and operationalizes the systematic critical thinking processes that expert nurses use to provide safe, comprehensive care. Thematic analysis of qualitative survey results revealed the following three main themes; (1) greater organization and understanding of patient data; (2) guiding of assessments and priorities of care; (3) better communication with others, and several subthemes. Thus, the Safe Care Framework™ may be a practical operational tool that can support novice nurses in developing critical thinking skills. This framework adds to the literature on innovative pedagogy for nurse educators.