Teaching nursing students’ clinical judgment using situational awareness and principles of combat training

Background

Nursing faculty are challenged with preparing nursing students to use clinical judgment and decision-making. These skills are best learned in clinical practice. Immersing students in patient care allows them to deepen their understanding of concepts learned in class while working with patients and families.

Innovation

Reviewing a timeline used for situational awareness in military training, a Nursing Preventable Event timeline was developed that aligns with the nursing process and clinical judgment model. Like soldiers, nurses must be hyper-alert, always assessing, questioning, and looking for indicators of acute patient changes that need quick interventions.

Implications

The timeline can be used in class, clinical post-conference, lab, and simulation to introduce situational awareness early in the program to help students recognize, interpret, and respond to cues to make timely decisions and improve outcomes.

Conclusion

Learning situational awareness early will develop clinical judgment and critical thinking skills to connect didactic learning to clinical experiences, anticipate patient situations that may unfold, and be prepared to intervene quickly.