critical thinking cards for ATI Proctored exam
Questions and Answers
describe critical thinking in nursing - ANSWER ✔✔-CT is an active, orderly, well thought-out reasoning
process that guides a nurse in various approaches to making a nursing judgement. (use knowledge,
experience, problem-solving, logic, reasoning and decision making.)
name the components of critical thinking - ANSWER ✔✔-knowledge, experience, critical thinking
competencies, attitudes, and intellectual and professional standards.
Critical thinking evolves through 3 levels. Name the 3 levels - ANSWER ✔✔-Basic
Complex
Commitment
Reflection - ANSWER ✔✔-purposefully thinking back or recalling a situation to discover its meaning and
gain insight into the event.
Language's role in CT - ANSWER ✔✔-Clear, concise language demonstrates focused thinking and
communicating unambiguous messages and expectations.
Intuition - ANSWER ✔✔-Inner sensing that something is so
Intuition should spark the nurse to search the data to confirm or disprove the feeling.
Basic CT - ANSWER ✔✔-Trust the experts
Results from limited knowledge and experience and inadequate CT experience.
Complex CT - ANSWER ✔✔-Beginning to express autonomy by analyzing and examining data
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Results from an increase in nursing knowledge, experience, intuition, and more flexible attitudes.
Commitment CT - ANSWER ✔✔-the nurse expects to make choices without the help from others and
fully assumes responsibility for those choices.
Results from expert level of knowledge, experience, developed intuition and reflective, flexible attitudes.
Knowledge component of CT - ANSWER ✔✔-info specific for nursing
Basic nursing education
Continuing Education
Advanced degrees and certifications
Experience component of CT - ANSWER ✔✔-Decision-making ability derived from opportunities to
observe, sense, and interact with clients followed by active reflection.
Understand clinical situations
Recognizes and analyze cues for relevance
Incorporates experience into intuition
Competence component of CT - ANSWER ✔✔-Cognitive processes a nurse uses to make nursing
judgements.
Name CT Skills used in Assessment/Data Collection - ANSWER ✔✔-Observe
Use correct technique
Differentiate between relevant and irrelevant data
Organize, validate, categorize data
Interpret assessment data and draw a conclusion
Created by Grace Amelia © 2025, All Rights Reserved.