A nurse is admitting a 73-year-old woman with a fractured ulna and radius to the trauma unit of the hospital.The patient's daughter and son-in-law are present.The nurse notices that the patient does not make eye contact when answering questions and the nurse senses that something is not right about the situation.Which technique did the nurse use?

A) Intuition
B) Critical thinking
C) Nursing process
D) Reflection

The fact that the nurse "senses" something is not right about the situation is intuition.Intuition is the inner sensing or "gut feeling" that something is so.For example,a nurse walks into a patient's room and,by looking at the patient's appearance without the benefit of a thorough assessment,senses that he or she has worsened physically.Reflection is a part of critical thinking that involves the process of purposefully thinking about or recalling a situation to discover its purpose or meaning.Critical thinking involves recognizing that an issue (e.g.,patient problem)exists,analyzing information related to the issue (e.g.,clinical data about a patient),evaluating information (including assumptions and evidence),and drawing conclusions.The nursing process is a five-step approach that incorporates diagnostic reasoning and clinical decision making.