Critical thinking is important for nursing ethics. It involves systematically evaluating beliefs and arguments according to rational standards. When applied to ethics, critical thinking means more than just having an opinion - it requires a careful, systematic approach. One key skill is analyzing arguments by examining the relationship between premises and conclusions. Nurses must apply critical thinking responsibly and question established rules systematically, especially in appropriate circumstances. While individual judgment is important, it must be balanced with collective wisdom embodied in laws, rules and conventions.

1. CRITICAL THINKING
AND NURSING ETHICS

2. Critical Thinking
The systematic evaluation or formulation of beliefs, or statements, by
rational standards. It involves thinking outside of the box, and a
willingness to ask hard questions when the need arises.
In Nursing:
It has to do with the application of distinct procedures and methods. It
also involves the use of very technical tools, such as the tools of formal
logic, to assess the validity of arguments.
Lewis Vaughn and Chris MacDonald, The Power of Critical Thinking, 3rd
Canadian Edition, Oxford University Press, 2013.

3. Critical Thinking
It will involve looking for well-known patterns of good or
bad reasoning. In other cases, being systematic will
simply mean looking carefully at the various parts of an
argument (its premises and conclusions) and at how the
argument is structured, in order to better assess its
strengths and weaknesses.Lewis Vaughn and Chris MacDonald, The Power of Critical Thinking, 3rd
Canadian Edition, Oxford University Press, 2013.

4. Critical Thinking
Thinking critically about nursing ethics means doing something more
than having an opinion. It implies a careful, systematic approach.
Example: Imagine a fellow nurse, one administering a clinical trial, says
to you, “If someone is my patient, then I owe that person a duty of care.
Right? And according to the relevant regulations, I owe the participants
in this clinical trial a duty of care, so they must therefore count as my
patients!” That’s an ethically significant conclusion. But is the argument
leading to it a good one?
If X, then Y. Therefore, Y is X.
Lewis Vaughn and Chris MacDonald, The Power of Critical Thinking, 3rd
Canadian Edition, Oxford University Press, 2013.

5. Critical Thinking
Arguments of that form are pretty common
and they are always, always faulty. The
premises of an argument with that structure
simply cannot support that conclusion.
Lewis Vaughn and Chris MacDonald, The Power of Critical Thinking, 3rd
Canadian Edition, Oxford University Press, 2013.

6. Critical Thinking
Critical Thinking is also about “evaluation” and “formulation” of
beliefs. This implies that critical thinking is to be applied to evaluating
existing beliefs as well as to the process of building new ones. First, it
can be used as part of reflective practice, as part of evaluating our
own current beliefs about what constitutes ethical or unethical
nursing practice. Second, it can be used in formulating new ethical
standards, for example when a new code of ethics or is being
devised. Lewis Vaughn and Chris MacDonald, The Power of Critical Thinking, 3rd
Canadian Edition, Oxford University Press, 2013.

7. How some of the specific skills
of critical thinking can be
applied to thinking about
nursing ethics?

8. One of the absolutely fundamental skills of critical
thinking is argument analysis, or the interpretation
of argument structure. And the fundamental
elements of argument structure are
argument premises and conclusions.
The word “argument,” in the context of critical
thinking, refers to a series of statements, in which
some of those statements (called “premises”) are
offered as reasons to believe another of the
statements (called the “conclusion.”)
Lewis Vaughn and Chris MacDonald, The Power of Critical Thinking, 3rd
Canadian Edition, Oxford University Press, 2013.

9. Understanding the way an argument is put
together — its structure — is a very good step
towards understanding its strengths and
weaknesses. Knowing, for example, that a given
argument has 3 separate premises rather than just
1, is fundamental to looking for its weaknesses.
Lewis Vaughn and Chris MacDonald, The Power of Critical Thinking, 3rd
Canadian Edition, Oxford University Press, 2013.

10. Critical thinking is a tricky concept to apply within the context of
nursing. After all, nurses simply cannot question every practice and
assumption. Sometimes immediate action is needed, and now is
not the time to sit back and ask probing questions. Being part of a
self-regulating profession means that RNs need to stick closely to
established technical and ethical standards. And most nurses work
in more-or-less hierarchical teams and institutional settings that
involve a huge number of rules, policies, and procedures that
simply must be followed.
Lewis Vaughn and Chris MacDonald, The Power of Critical Thinking, 3rd
Canadian Edition, Oxford University Press, 2013.

11. What is really required, then, is a critical approach
to critical thinking: a responsible nurse needs to
systematically about when and where to question
established rules. The key, of course, is to develop
the attitude and skills of a critical thinker, and to be
ready to apply them in appropriate circumstances.
Lewis Vaughn and Chris MacDonald, The Power of Critical Thinking, 3rd
Canadian Edition, Oxford University Press, 2013.

12. This is just one way of illustrating this general point
about ethics: while individual judgment and critical
thinking are essential to good ethical reasoning, it
needs to be balanced against the collective
wisdom that is often embodied in laws, rules, and
social conventions.
Lewis Vaughn and Chris MacDonald, The Power of Critical Thinking, 3rd
Canadian Edition, Oxford University Press, 2013.