Expertise in Nursing Practice: Caring, Clinical Judgment and Ethics

This book examines the nature of clinical knowledge and judgment. The authors present a report of a six-year study of over 1,300 hospital nurses, primarily in critical care. The contributors document and analyze their clinical narratives for stages of clinical skill acquisition and the components of expert practice. Ultimately, this work examines the meaning of expertise in nursing practice through the nurse's use of scientific knowledge, professional experience, and careful attention to each patient's changing condition.