A phenomenologic study of flight nurses' clinical decision-making in emergency situations.

Abstract

This article describes a phenomenologic study of Western Australian flight nurses' clinical decision-making in emergency situations in which they were the sole health professional. Following a phenomenologic method, in-depth interviews were analyzed by the method Colaizzi described. The phenomenon of clinical decision-making in emergency situations was explicated and illustrated by a thematic analysis. A gestalt of knowing was identified by the interrelationships of the themes Ways of Knowing the Patient, Context of Knowing, and Reflective Practice. The theme Ways of Knowing the Patient is formed by the subthemes of intuitive, experiential, and objective knowing. The subthemes of aviation environment, no or minimized involvement in triage, knowing colleagues, sole practitioner, experiential level, and practice guidelines form the theme Context of Knowing. The third theme, Reflective Practice, consists of the subthemes self-critique and change in practice. The findings address the paucity of knowledge of the phenomenon of clinical decision-making in this context of flight nursing practice.