Abstract:

Patho-mapping was implemented in nursing education theory and clinical practice areas to stimulate critical thinking in the third year nursing students. This alternative to traditional frameworks such as nursing care plans, concept mapping and mind-mapping, encourages nursing students to diagram and visualize connections between disease processes. Patho-mapping focuses on the pathophysiology; students are also expected to integrate the patient’s laboratory or diagnostic investigations, medications, medical and nursing diagnosis, plan of care, interventions and evaluations. This strategy provides students with the visual rationale and origin of the problem. Historically, nursing education has been centered on the nursing process: gathering data, identifying nursing diagnosis, establishing goals, planning interventions/providing rationale and continual evaluation of these components. Although this linear care plan process might satisfy auditory or kinesthetic learners, it hinders those visual learners to understand completely or appreciate the complexity of the situation. Patho-mapping is an individual student’s vision of how things fit together; no one is the same. Student’s narrative feedback is exceedingly positive. For example, they suggest it pushes them ‘think like a nurse’, encourages effective problem solving, promotes connection of pieces of the puzzle and furthers an understanding of the patient’s health status. Understanding the 'why' guides students in the appropriate direction of patient care. These students suggested patho-mapping made more sense and visually linking information together provided realism to patient care needs. In general students felt more prepared and comfortable in their preparation of knowledge, assessment, skill, and evaluation of their patient interventions and care. The journey nursing students take in their acquisition of knowledge and practice is directly related to providing safe and quality patient care. Patho-mapping is a visual diagram that presents nursing students a greater understanding of information relevant to patients; a successful alternative to stimulate critical thinking.