Nurses are the backbone of the healthcare system which is well demonstrated by the ongoing COVID 19 pandemic which has strained the healthcare system. Globally, the year 2020 was regarded as the year of the nurse and the midwife but no one thought the dependency on the nurse and midwife would be this immense. With so much expectation on the nurse and the new world order, focus on patient safety is the main agenda of the healthcare system and the nursing fraternity. Subsequently in light of this developments, nursing education needs to step in to the new world order and adequately prepare nurses and nursing students so as to complement the complex healthcare system. The traditional teaching strategies no longer support the changing healthcare systems thus it’s paramount for us to have nurses who can apply critical thinking and clinical reasoning at every stage of providing care. This application of critical thinking and clinical reasoning ensures nursing care is provided for positive patient outcomes and conversely achieve patient safety confirming what Schaffer & Rubenfield (2000) said ``behind every healed patient is a critical thinking nurse’’.In conclusion, globally, nurses have the same questions: How can nurses and nursing student’s ability to think critically be enhanced? How can we help task oriented individuals who have a narrow view of the work they do? How can we assess critical thinking in diverse learners and nurses? There’s need to teach and evaluate critical thinking which will translate to clinical reasoning for patients´ safety.
Biography:
Ruth is a Registered Nurse RN,BscN from Kenyatta University and currently pursuing Masters in Nursing Education. She`s a Nursing lecturer at Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC),Trainer for Helping babies breathe and resuscitation, Trainer for Sexual Reproductive Health program, Trainer for HIV&AIDS and Behavior Change Communication and Attitude Training. She’s a Certified Monitor and Evaluator by Technical and Vocational Education and Training Authority(TVETA).Ruth has mentored and supervised nursing students undertaking diploma and bachelor`s programs. She`s organized and participated on several Medical Missions to the less privileged and vulnerable communities that cannot access adequate health care.
