Activating clinical inferences: A component of diagnostic reasoning in nursing

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Abstract
In this exploratory study, nursing inferences were examined within a framework of information processing theory. Verbal responses to a patient simulation by 28 nursing students and 15 practicing nurses were used as data. Six different categories of inferences were identified. Inferences most frequently activated across educational levels were those about immediate situational concerns. Practicing nurses activated significantly more complex inferences than the student groups. In each group, the majority of inferences were activated during the first half of the encounter. These results of this preliminary analysis support the proposition that inference activation is an important component of the diagnostic reasoning process used by both nurses and nursing students.

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