**American Journal of Nursing (AJN) Book of the Year Awards, 3rd Place in Nursing Education/Professional Development, 2025**
Develop the multiple types of thinking you need to make safe, appropriate clinical judgments!
Alfaro’s Clinical Judgment in Nursing: A How-To Practice Approach, 8th Edition, brings these concepts to life through engaging, easy-to-understand language, diverse learning activities, and real-life clinical scenarios. This edition emphasizes readiness for nursing practice and the Next-Generation NCLEX® exam, with a focus on the six cognitive (thinking) skills needed to make evidence-based clinical judgments.
- UPDATED! Restructured coverage reflects the latest research and trends related to the multiple types of thinking needed to make effective clinical judgments in nursing.
- Thinking Exercises throughout each chapter, and again at the end of each chapter, enable you to apply clear examples of clinical judgment cognitive skills that measure: Recognize Cues; Analyze Cues; Prioritize Hypotheses; Generate Solutions; Take Actions; Evaluate Outcomes
- UPDATED! Next-Generation NCLEX® (NGN) thinking exercises prepare you for the significant changes to the exam
- NEW! Additional NGN-Style Unfolding Case Studies and Standalone Items on the companion Evolve website give you valuable practice answering these new question types
- Clear, straightforward approach and motivational writing style provides real-life clinical scenarios that illustrate how to make effective clinical judgments in nursing practice
- Highlighted features and sections promote deep learning, including: This Chapter at a Glance; Learning Outcomes; Key Terms; Clinical Judgment Tip boxes; Thinking Exercise boxes
- How to Make Safe Clinical Judgments chapter provides full examples of both Standalone Items and Unfolding Case Studies to help you prepare for the newest NGN test items on the NCLEX® exam
Updated throughout to reflect the latest research and thinking related to critical thinking in nursing, clinical reasoning in nursing, and clinical nursing judgment. Includes significant updates related to the Next-Generation NCLEX® Exam (NGN), the 2021 AACN Essentials, and the 2021 Future of Nursing Report. Includes new NGN-style case studies on Evolve: NGN Case Studies for Faculty: 5 unfolding 10 single-episode NGN Case Studies for Students: 5 unfolding 10 single-episode
Donna Ignatavicius is nationally recognized as an expert in nursing education and medical-surgical/gerontological nursing and has a wealth of experiences as a nurse educator, clinical nurse specialist, and administrator for over 40 years. Currently, she provides curriculum consultation and presentations for nursing faculty on topics such as concept-based curriculum, assessment of learning methods, and active learning strategies through her consulting company, DI Associates, Inc. Additionally, she is the primary author of numerous articles and books, including Medical-Surgical Nursing: Concepts for Interprofessional Collaborative Care, 11th ed. (2024) and her new student workbooks, Developing Clinical Judgment for Professional Nursing Practice and NGN Readiness, 2nd ed. (2024) and Developing Clinical Judgment for Practical/Vocational Nursing and the Next-Generation NCLEX-PN® Examination (2021). In 2007 she was inducted as a fellow into the prestigious Academy of Nursing Education (ANEF) for her national contribution to the field of nursing education. In 2016 she obtained her Certified Nurse Educator® (CNE) credential; in 2020 she obtained her Academic Clinical Nurse Educator (CNEcl) credential.
