• Michael L Callihan, Lisa Wolf, Heather Cole, Sarah Robinson, Holly Stokley, Meridith Rice, Joshua C Eyer, Johnny Tice, Sophia Mohabbat, and Stella Rogers.
• J Emerg Nurs. 2023 Mar 1; 49 (2): 222235222-235.

IntroductionClinical judgment is imperative for the emergency nurse caring for the acutely ill patients often seen in the emergency department. Without optimal clinical judgment in the emergency department, patients are at risk of medical errors and a failure to rescue.MethodsA descriptive observational approach using the Lasater Clinical Judgment Rubric evaluated nurses during a task that required recognition of clinical signs of deterioration and appropriate clinical care for simulated patients.ResultsA total of 18 practicing emergency nurses completed only 44.6% of the patient assessments leading to low levels of clinical judgment throughout the simulation. Nurses expressed 4 levels of clinical judgment: exemplary (n = 1), accomplishing (n = 6), developing (n = 9), and beginning (n = 2). On average, nurses completed 69% of required tasks.DiscussionAssessments were completed less than half the time, demonstrating a breakdown in the noticing phase of clinical judgment. The nurses shifted to task completion focus with minimal use of clinical judgment. As the nurses remained task oriented, several medication and medical errors were noted while caring for the simulated patients. Experience and education did not influence observed clinical judgment among the participants. Given the extreme demands placed on the emergency nurse, it cannot be assumed that nurses have developed or can use clinical judgment when caring for their patients. Time and training targeting clinical judgment are essential for emergency nurse development.Copyright © 2022 Emergency Nurses Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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