Decision making from the perspective of nursing students

Six types of decision making were categorized by the students as follows: Decision about communication (15 record units [RU]); Decision about understanding (14 RU); Decision about intervention (9 RU); Decision about timing (5 RU); Decision about targeting (4 RU); and Decision about management (0 RU), with a total of 47 RU.

Final considerations:

Analysis of the learning diaries showed that students make more decisions regarding communication with patients and understanding of the care situation, than with the acting decision.

Descriptors:
Decision Making; Nursing Students; Learning; Nursing Education; Case Study

Students	Total students per school year	Participating students	Learning diaries/Field notes
3S	283	37	130
4S	331	10	40
Total	614	47	170

Decision type	Definition	Example
Decision (intervention)	Selecting interventions	Choosing of a mattress for an elderly patient who was hospitalized with an acute intestinal obstruction
Decision (targeting)	Selecting which patients will benefit most with the nursing intervention	Deciding which patients should wear anti-embolism stockings
Decision (timing)	Selecting the best time for the intervention	Deciding the time to begin health education on asthma for patients newly diagnosed with asthma
Decision (communication)	Selecting which information to collect and inform to patients, families, and nursing team	Deciding how to approach cardiac rehabilitation after acute myocardial infarction in an elderly patient who lives alone, despite having family members living close
Decision (Service organization and management)	Defining or processing the transfer of care	Deciding how to organize a patient transfer for a more effective communication.
Decision (experiential, understanding, or hermeneutic)	Interpreting signs in the care process	Deciding how to reassure a patient who is worried about a possible cardiac arrest after witnessing another patient who had a cardiac arrest

Decision-making type	Frequency by sub-category	Frequency by category
Decision about intervention	9	47
Decision about targeting	4
Decision about timing	5
Decision about communication	15
Decision about management	0
Decision about understanding	14

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[1] Corresponding Author: Maria de Fátima Mendes Marques E-mail: fmarques@esel.pt