Recognising logical fallacies in nursing practice to support effective clinical decision-making.

Wynn, MO

Abstract

Logical fallacies can affect routine and complex decision-making, potentially leading to a reduction in the efficacy or application of robust evidence to care. Experienced and inexperienced nurses may inadvertently integrate fallacious reasoning into their clinical decisions due to the inherent deceptiveness of logical fallacies and the effect of cognitive biases. By gaining an understanding of logical fallacies, nurses may be able to identify them during clinical reasoning processes, thereby mitigating their effects on clinical outcomes. This article considers six of the most common logical fallacies and provides examples of how they might manifest in clinical practice. [Abstract copyright: © 2022 RCN Publishing Company Ltd. All rights reserved. Not to be copied, transmitted or recorded in any way, in whole or part, without prior permission of the publishers.]

Citation

Wynn, M. (2022). Recognising logical fallacies in nursing practice to support effective clinical decision-making. Nursing Standard, https://doi.org/10.7748/ns.2022.e11665

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Apr 20, 2021
• Publication Date: Apr 4, 2022
• Deposit Date: Jun 21, 2022
• Journal: Nursing Standard
• Print ISSN: 0029-6570
• Publisher: RCN Publishing
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.7748/ns.2022.e11665
• Keywords: decision-making, nursing care, professional, evidence-based practice, clinical guidelines, professional issues