Examples Of Integrative Thinking In Nursing

Integrative thinking is a relatively new concept in nursing administration. Integrative thinking is a concept simply defined as serving or intending to unify separate things and thinking is defined as thoughtful: reflective. Even more recently integrative thinking has been used in nursing education to aid in the teaching of critical thinking. The concept of integrative thinking described by Martin 2008 is thinking that allows an individual to extract the better of two opposing models to formulate an almost entirely new and improved model or concept. (Dearlove, D., and Crainer, S. 2008) This idea flies in the face of conventional thinking that insisted one side should be chosen and developed. Dickieson and Carter and Walsh 2008 wrote about

Experience can be realized in many ways other than just with a real patient who may suffer for the ignorance of their nurse. Integrative nursing education should not be limited to academia. Nurses should have the opportunity to practice scenarios in a safe teaching learning environment, so that they could develop their practice. Several hospitals that I have worked for over the years have integrated simulation training into their new hire RN education and more specifically for their new graduate RN nurses. This large investment in the development of our newer nurse will improve the care at the bed side, reduce the incidence of errors and improve job satisfaction. Experienced nurses can also use simulation to gain valuable practice with low volume high risk activities/situations. The lived experiences in the simulation lab help to develop skills nurses can use with real

There are few opportunities for nursing administrators to learn, practice or develop expertise with the varied activities that pop up on a daily basis. The expression you only get one chance to make a first impression is never truer than with many of the things we nursing administrators face. Staff hang on the every word of a new administrators, listening as hard for signs of good leadership as they are looking for mistakes in the talk. These mistakes or misspeaks are run through the spin room of the unit rumor mill and the interpretive statements spread from staff to staff rarely resemble the original idea. It would be nice to have a safe place to try out the things that need to be shared with the staff. Weekly staff meetings have helped my development, because they are shorter and I tend to get immediate feedback that can be clarified in my weekly email updated that reaches more staff then our traditional staff meetings. One strategy that I can say really helps to develop that integrative thinking within the nurse administrator role is to have an opportunity to communicate frequently with your nursing leadership peers. In the organization I work for the inpatient directors meet for lunch almost every day. During lunch we have the opportunity to bounce ideas off each other as a sounding board for the things that we are dealing with on our