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Methods: Phenomenological qualitative study was executed using a focus group of seven recent nursing school graduates. This study is semi-structured based on the process and sources of clinical decision making proposed by Dr. Andrea Marshall. From the focus group, audiovisual data was recorded transcribed and micro analyzed through open and axial coding in order to find categories and subcategories of factors involving their decision making.
Results: Two main categories emerged: The first one reveals on what the graduates base their clinical decisions. Graduates based their decisions more on information from outdated healthcare personnel and textbooks than proper consultation of scientific evidence and resources. They also fall back on unfounded practical knowledge without applying sound theory. The second category is in regards to the factors that influence the graduates process of clinical decision making. Nursing school graduate students tend to study in a linear and stagnant manner. They limit their development to simply following instructions and memorizing facts instead of developing skills such as citical thinking, nonlinear analysis , and professional management in addition to written and spoken English comprehension. These factors, along with the dissociation of theory and practice, have been found to influence and create problems in the graduates decision making process especially in scenarios such as when having to treat a patient without a supervising figure as a facilitator.
Conclusion: It can be concluded that to make clinical decisions, graduates are based more on unfounded practical knowledge and informal opinions of others such as colleagues and/or senior staff rather than rely on up to date sicientific evidence and critical thinking. This severely impacts their ability to make the kinds of competent decisions that nursing demands.