TABLE 1: Cognitive Skills of Clinical Judgment
Cognitive Skills in Clinical Judgment
Definition
Relevant Questions
Identifying relevant and important information from different sources (medical history, vital signs, assessment data)
What information is relevant/irrelevant? What information is most important?
Recognize Cues
What client conditions are consistent with cues? Why is a cue of concern? What other information do you need?
Organizing and linking cues to client’s clinical presentation
Analyze Cues
Evaluating and ranking hypotheses according to priority (urgency, likelihood, risk, time) Identifying expected outcomes, using hypotheses to define interventions to reach expected outcomes
What explanation seems most/least likely? What possible issues are the most serious?
Prioritize Hypothesis
What is a desirable outcome? What interventions can achieve those outcomes? What should be avoided?
Generate Solution
Implementing solution that addresses highest priority
Which intervention(s) is most appropriate? How should the intervention be accomplished?
Take Action
What signs point to improving/declining/ unchanged status? Were the interventions effective? Would other interventions have been more effective?
Comparing observed outcomes against expected outcomes
Evaluate Outcomes
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