Hey! what's the importance of critical thinking in regards with the nursing profession???

As a nurse you need to make critical split second decisions all the time. I once heard that people go to a hospital for NURSING care, not doctor care, which is so true. It is the nurses who take care of the patients. Many nurses know more than the doctors. Nurses spend hours with patients, while doctors spend mere minutes. It is the nurse who checks the patients to make sure they are getting what they need, that they are comfortable as can be. It is the nurses that see a patient in distress, and THEN call a doctor. Nurses are on their toes!

As a former RN, I really don't understand your question. The importance of critical thinking? In what regards? I will tell you that75% of what you learn in the books you will never use once you're on the floor with real patients.

I would think critical thinking - meaning logical thinking - would be very important in most facets of the nursing profession. While there is a need for empathy and emotional understanding in patient care, the majority of nursing involves getting facts right, and getting them put down on paper (in computer) in a fashion that clearly communicates them to all other participants.

I would think that critical, clear and logical thinking would be an asset for this major part of a nurse's function.

As an RN I couldn't have said it better than my predecessor. You are always using critical thinking to make judgment calls. And prioritizing problems that come up, sometimes, on a minute by minute situation. We practice the ABC's. Airway, breathing, circulation--in that order. Everything else is secondary. It saves lives--daily.