Author Question: Some nursing students are complaining about having to write so many journals. Which statement by the ... (Read 154 times)

elizabeth18 · **on:** Jul 17, 2018

Some nursing students are complaining about having to write so many journals. Which statement by the nursing instructor provides the best explanation for this? Journaling

a. allows reflection, an important critical thinking skill.
b. gives you time to review what happened in your clinical.
c. is a way to organize your thoughts about your experiences.
d. teaches open-mindedness, a critical thinking disposition.

Question 2

The Director of Nursing (DON) at a large urban hospital is tasked with increasing the hospital's profits and improving quality. What action by the DON is best?

a. Engage in monopsony with regional hospitals.
b. Hire more nonprofessional ancillary staff.
c. Implement policies to prevent hospital-acquired infections.
d. Purchase capital budget items only when necessary.

nguyenhoanhat · **Reply #1 on:** Jul 17, 2018

Answer to Question 1

A
Critical thinking requires reflection on what occurred, how data were processed, and how decisions were made. Journaling is one method of developing critical thinking skills.
Journaling does give nurses time to review what happened in their clinical, but this statement does not go far enough in explaining the importance of the journal-writing process.
Journaling may be a way to organize thoughts about one's experiences, but this statement is too narrow an explanation and does not account for the critical aspect of reflection.
Open-mindedness is a critical thinking disposition that allows one to be tolerant of divergent views. Journaling can assist with developing this disposition but only if what is written reflects that specific topic.

Answer to Question 2

C
The provisions of the Affordable Care Act encourage quality improvement through the development of reliable quality measurements and enforcing accountability. Specifically, the Act reduces payments to hospitals with 25th percentile or higher rate of hospital-acquired infections. To avoid losing that money and to show quality, the DON would implement policies that are designed to prevent hospital-acquired infections. Monopsony is the practice of hospitals setting nurses' wages to maximize profits. This does not ensure quality. Hiring more nonprofessional staff may save money but does not improve quality. Purchasing capital budget items only when necessary may be a sound financial strategy but may have a deleterious effect on quality. The only option to both improve profit and quality is to prevent hospital-acquired infections.