Linguistic Proficiency For Nurses
Over years of practice, nurses will develop a ‘critical thinking’ process. Concepts are elements used in this process. To become an expert in analytical thinking the nurse must first become proficient in the way words are used in language. And it is only a good command of the language that can help a nurse develop the much desired analytical thinking. A nurse can become indispensable if she shows excellent analytical thinking skills.
Understanding the basics of language command It is crucial that the nurse gain a meticulous understanding of how words representing concepts or ideas, are used. You have no idea what I’m talking about, do you? Well, take the words want and need. They look like quite simple concepts, right? There is a very subtle difference between the two concepts of need versus want and these are actually value judgments. And while we’re on the subject of judgment, you should know that acting judgmental and making a judgment mean different things. You might also want to think about how being knowledgeable is not the same as being informed. Or the difference between taking a stand for your convictions and the act of being plain stubborn?
Command of the language comes from a thorough understanding of the subtleties of the words and their definitions according to a good dictionary. Such words correspond to ideas and concepts commonly used by society, and they form combined thought patterns. Without these patterns and clear definitions the meaning of ideas and concepts that need to be analyzed will become confused and distorted gray areas. For a nurse to arrive at a positive course of action after analyzing a given situation or patient, there needs to be clarity of thought. And to achieve concept accuracy a nurse needs to be very familiar with language and the use of words and concepts or their meanings.
How to test your basic understanding of ideas and concepts:
Below you will find a list of simple concepts. What you will need to do is find the difference of meaning between the words and the concepts they correspond to. For each pair of words you’ll have to write down the basic difference between them. Once you’re done with all sets, compare your notes to the definitions given in Webster. That will give you a clear picture of the language understanding you have.
Just by doing a small exercise like the one described here will help you to gain a good command of the language. There is a whole lot of concepts whose meaning becomes unclear due to inappropriate use. The improvement of your linguistic skills will translate into an improvement of your nursing critical thinking.
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