Introduction
During clinical practice, decision-making forms a critical aspect of patient care. As such, analytical decisions that drive patient and client care should be well-reasoned. In the nursing practice setting, the decision to change the procedure about the approach of baby delivery from normal birth delivery to the caesarian section was undertaken. The choice to change a process or practice was based on a shared decision-making (SDM) approach. The SDM technique introduces several choices to the patients, describes the options available to them, and helps them explore their preferences and make decisions (Coates et al., 2020). The SDM approach is generally suitable for decisions within environments of high uncertainty. This approach incorporates the experience gathered over time under similar circumstances, especially regarding medications, surgery, screening, and diagnostic tests. Therefore, this paper aims to utilize the SDM methodology in determining the judgment to alter the procedure of child delivery from normal birth to the caesarian section.
Steps Involved in the Decision-Making Process
The first step in the analytical decision-making approach is using cues to gather and analyze patient data and medical history. This process was mainly done through direct observation, listening to the patient’s concerns, reviewing patient records, and examining lab results and other atypical responses (Coates et al., 2020). In our nursing setting, we asked the patient whether they had undergone cesarean delivery before and their preferred mode of delivery. The second step involves making judgments on the patient’s data to ascertain what could happen by checking patterns, evaluating information needs and the possible sources of the missing information, and checking the evidence to support initial suspicions about what could happen. According to Pieterse et al. (2019), these judgments are made and prioritized based on the current patient, the operating environment, and the situation. The nurses helped the patient to compare and explore the child delivery options available.
The next step involved deciding what to do and the suitable approach to changing the procedure. At this step, nurses consulted the parties to be consulted and informed regarding the changes in their values and preferences (Hadizadeh-Talasaz et al., 2021). The patient was counseled and received detailed information regarding C-sections. The final step in the shared decision-making process involves evaluating the outcomes of the decision to assess the effectiveness of the change in procedure. According to Hadizadeh-Talasaz et al. (2021), this stage may include consulting with other individuals in patient care and determining the additional information needed to make different judgments and decisions. This step ensures all stakeholders are involved in the decision-making process.
Evidence Considered for Decision-Making
Evidence-based decision-making enables specialists to rethink their proposals before executing them, lowering the possibility of making unwise choices. It is also simpler to select trustworthy strategies that are proven to yield results when a technique is based on hard evidence rather than intuition or judgment. The proof for decision-making included the patient’s data obtained by making direct observations, understanding the patient’s concerns and story, reviewing previous patients’ records, and analyzing lab results (Coates et al., 2020). Furthermore, information regarding the patient’s previous birth experience, concerns regarding the risk of vaginal birth, current pregnancy situation, and health insurance were critical in decision-making regarding a suitable delivery approach.
Effectiveness of the Change
The change was effective since the desired outcome was achieved by improving the patient’s care and successful delivery during childbirth. Mothers’ involvement in the shared decision-making approach ensured that the caregivers and the patients were fully aware of the available child delivery options. The change of procedure ensured the safety of the mother and baby. Furthermore, SDM making minimizes decisional conflict that culminates from inefficient patient engagement in the decision-making procedure, regrets regarding choices made, and reduced delays in decision-making.
Conclusion
SDM involves doctors and patients sharing the best evidence and supporting patients to examine alternatives to form knowledgeable choices. The SDM approach in patient decision-making is recommendable during nursing practice as it considers the patient’s participation in making decisions. By helping patients explore and compare the various available treatment options, nurses and caregivers can assess the patient’s values and preferences and decide with the patient regarding their preferred treatment choice.
References
Coates, D., Thirukumar, P., & Henry, A. (2020). Making shared decisions in relation to planned caesarean sections: What are we up to? Patient Education and Counseling, 103(6), 1176-1190. Web.
Hadizadeh-Talasaz, F., Ghoreyshi, F., Mohammadzadeh, F., & Rahmani, R. (2021). Effect of shared decision making on mode of delivery and decisional conflict and regret in pregnant women with previous cesarean section: A randomized clinical trial. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, 21, 1-10. Web.
Pieterse, A. H., Stiggelbout, A. M., & Montori, V. M. (2019). Shared decision-making and the importance of time. Jama, 322(1), 25-26. Web.