Developing clinical reasoning strategies: cognitive shortcuts.

Abstract

Incorporating decision support research and technology, such as computerized "best practice" clinical pathways, into patient care management is recommended or decreasing cognitive demands on nurses. Criticized for not representing "real-time" patient care, these standardized approaches may be used in concert with strategies for developing nurses' own clinical reasoning. Real-time clinical information processing activities are offered for staff educators to augment the development of clinical reasoning for both experienced and less-experienced nurses' decision making.