An Innovative Clinical Concept Map to Promote Clinical Judgment in Nursing Students

Clinical judgment is an essential component of nursing education and a necessary skill for entry-level nurses. The use of traditional concept maps may not encourage adequate clinical judgment skills in nursing students.

Using the current NCLEX test plan, the National Council of State Boards of Nursing clinical judgment model, and the theoretical frameworks of Benner, Tanner, and Caputi, a new approach to concept mapping was developed.

Student feedback is positive, pointing to increased ability to prioritize nursing care and simplifying a significant amount of complex information and improved critical thinking and clinical judgment.

This clinical concept map increases clinical judgment by assimilating and analyzing clinical information and integrating it into the nursing process. All components are on one sheet of paper, providing students with a succinct, global picture of nursing care. [J Nurs Educ. 2021;60(3):143-149.].