Abstract:
In nursing, there are a plethora of diseases that nurses may encounter during their career. Many
of these diseases have striking similarities that can be difficult to differentiate between; it is
important to be able to do this in order to properly care for the patient and his or her well-being.
Critical thinking skills are crucial for nurses to possess; these skills allow nurses to think through
a disease process and understand why certain symptoms develop and occur in patients with that
disease. Every patient is different, so it is key to recognize how the disease process is working in
each individual person to identify any possible complications that may arise from the disease by
using critical thinking. Nurses must also analyze and synthesize assessment data and other
diagnostic evidence to form clinical judgments and determine clinical decisions. In these ten case
studies, I reflect upon nursing care of multisystem critically ill patients, explain what happened
and what it means for future nursing practice, and employ all of the critical thinking described
previously.
