List and discuss the reasons why we should never exclusively rely on our intuition when making practice decisions.  When is it necessary to make practice decisions based solely on intuition?

For several reasons, we should not rely solely on intuition to make practice decisions. Firstly, it is important to note that intuition is based on personal experiences and beliefs which may not necessarily be accurate in all situations – thus relying solely on this approach can potentially lead to wrong or misguided conclusions.

Additionally, using intuition as the primary form of decision-making bypasses the scientific process and often ignores evidence-based research which has been accumulated over time – meaning that this approach does not necessarily guarantee safe or effective outcomes. Furthermore, relying too heavily on one’s own instincts can also limit creativity/innovation in problem solving since any solutions proposed are likely to be limited to a specific set of ideas/scenarios.

If there are no alternative data available or there is an emergency situation that requires immediate action (e.g. life-threatening situations), it is sometimes necessary to base practice decisions solely on instinct. Nurses must make decisions based on their instinct and past experience in these situations to provide timely care and ensure appropriate intervention. Ultimately though, it is important for nurses to remember that while intuition serves an important purpose – it should never be used as the sole basis for making clinical decisions since this could adversely affect patient safety and treatment outcome overall.