Decision Making Scenarios Worksheet

Decision Making Scenarios Scenario 1: Jean has a comprehensive exam scheduled Monday that covers more than 1,000 pages of material. She is scheduled to work Saturday morning and Sunday afternoon. Her employer refused to let her take the weekend off to study. Jean has had very little time to review, her grades have been very low this semester. If she scores poorly on this test, Jean will fail out of nursing school. To compound the problem, there is a big party on Saturday that Jean really wants to attend. Based on the scenario, identify the problem that would require a decision. ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ Identify solutions: • ______________________________________________________________ Pro:__________________________________________________________ Con:__________________________________________________________ • ______________________________________________________________ Pro:__________________________________________________________ Con:__________________________________________________________ • ______________________________________________________________ Pro:__________________________________________________________ Con:__________________________________________________________ Identify the outcome you wanted to achieve with the decision you made. _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ Place an asterisk (*) beside the selected alternative (solution) that achieves the desired outcome. What if Jean’s goals were different? What if the goal were to make money to pay the rent and buy groceries because her mother lost her job and has been ill the past three weeks? Would your choice be different? (Page 53)

Taken from: Lipe, S. and Beasley, S. (2004). Critical thinking in nursing: A cognitive skills workbook. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Scenario 2: Linda has just returned to school and has been out of the study habit for 7 years. She has found it very difficult to get back into the habit of studying. (Page 54) Her time is further stretched by responsibilities of being a wife and mother of two pre-school aged children. Based on the scenario, identify the problem that would require a decision. ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ Identify solutions: • ______________________________________________________________ Pro:__________________________________________________________ Con:__________________________________________________________ • ______________________________________________________________ Pro:__________________________________________________________ Con:__________________________________________________________ • ______________________________________________________________ Pro:__________________________________________________________ Con:__________________________________________________________ Identify the outcome you wanted to achieve with the decision you made. _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ Place an asterisk (*) beside the selected alternative (solution) that achieves the desired outcome.

Taken from: Lipe, S. and Beasley, S. (2004). Critical thinking in nursing: A cognitive skills workbook. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Scenario 3: Joel is working as an certified nursing assistant (CNA). He wants to be a nurse but can’t decide if he should attend nursing school in the fall. He and his roommate have discussed their bills; he would have little time for working to assist with household expenses. He is also concerned about having enough time to study and participate in family events. (Page 54) Based on the scenario, identify the problem that would require a decision. ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ Identify solutions: • ______________________________________________________________ Pro:__________________________________________________________ Con:__________________________________________________________ • ______________________________________________________________ Pro:__________________________________________________________ Con:__________________________________________________________ • ______________________________________________________________ Pro:__________________________________________________________ Con:__________________________________________________________ Identify the outcome you wanted to achieve with the decision you made. _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ Place an asterisk (*) beside the selected alternative (solution) that achieves the desired outcome.

Taken from: Lipe, S. and Beasley, S. (2004). Critical thinking in nursing: A cognitive skills workbook. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.