Lake Sumter State College Decision Making Discussion
Two Response Posts (Minimum 250 words). Respond to two classmates and identify additional resources that would help to develop their decision-making skills. Use current (within the last five years) articles from a peer-reviewed journal (nursing or non-nursing) to support your comments and suggestions.
POST 1
Morgan MarshallThursdayJul 22 at 10pm
For the assignment this week, I am to complete a quiz called “How Good is Your Decision Making?”. Decision-making consists of various components that are complex, have critical consequences, require thoughtful consideration, and reflect on the leader that is the face of the decisions (Trepanier & Crenshaw, 2019). It is vital that nursing managers have excellent decision-making skills. After completing the eighteen questions, I received a score of 63. This score put in me the middle section of scoring. I thought that my decision-making skills aligned with the score, and I thought I would be rated in the middle of the scoring while I was taking the quiz.
Based on my scoring, my decision-making process is ok. It stated that I have a good understanding of the basics of decision-making, but there is room for improvement in my processes and to be more proactive. My greatest strength in the decision-making process is that I establish a positive decision-making environment. I think it stems from my positive personality and my strong organizational skills The biggest areas that I need to focus on are the areas of checking the decision, deciding, and generating potential solutions. I think to improve on these areas, I need to focus on my decision-making process by developing a system that I can use as a tool in a variety of situations. I also think that my decision-making skills will improve as I gain experience in my nursing career.
One new tool that I can implement to add to my decision-making process is the Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, Threat (SWOT) analysis. This tool uses decision grids to facilitate the visualization of options to compare and contrast (Trepanier & Crenshaw, 2019). It can be used by an individual or team by listing the sections related to the situation under consideration (Trepanier & Crenshaw, 2019). It is flexible as it can be used in a variety of situations. I think this tool will be useful because I am a visual learner and I think this will be a great benefit.
References
Trepanier, S & Crenshaw, J.T. (2019) Making decisions and solving problems. In Yoder-Wise, P.S. (Ed.).(2019). Leading and managing in nursing (7th ed., pp 462-483). Elsevier.
POST 2
Collapse SubdiscussionTaylor Adams
Taylor AdamsMondayJul 19 at 4:35pm
This week we got to take a self-assessment, which I think is always a fun assignment. I’m not always fully aware of the way that I do things until I stand back and really evaluate them. I wasn’t surprised to find out that I did not score particularly high on the self-assessment. I know that I can make decisions, however, I do know that there are many ways I could make improvement. My score was 53 out of 90, which I don’t think is a bad start. My results suggested that I develop a system for making decisions that will work with a variety of different situations.
Stepping back and looking at the steps of how to make decisions, I didn’t realize there was such a straightforward plan! First of all is creating a positive environment. I didn’t realize this was so important, I have had many instances where I have made decisions under a heavy negative pressure. I feel as though I do a good job of generating potential solutions and evaluating them. It is important for nurses to determine priorities when solving problems (Trepanier & Crenshaw, 2019).
The biggest steps are making the decision, double checking your decision, and then implement your decision. I think I am strong in these points mainly. However, there are definitely instances where I have made decisions and regretted them, so I didn’t successfully implement them. I think that I can strengthen my decision-making skills by reading more information about these processes. I also think that exposing myself to more situations where I am forced to make decisions and see them through could be beneficial. I have found that the more I practice something, the better I get at it.
One thing I have learned in nursing is that we are constantly making decisions that can have very critical results. Nurses are trusted for these reasons, so it is important that we make efforts to excel in our decision-making skills to keep ourselves and our patients safe.
References
Trepanier, S., & Crenshaw, J. T. (2019). Making decisions and solving problems. In P. S. Yoder-Wise (Eds.). Leading and managing in nursing (7th ed., pp. 257-273). Elsevier.
