Professional support as a facilitator to the development of Iranian nurses’ clinical judgment: A content analysis

BACKGROUND: Nurses’ clinical judgment development is essential for the professional nursing practice. The aim of this study was to explore the facilitators to the development of Iranian nurses’ clinical judgment. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A qualitative design using conventional content analysis method was employed in the study. A purposive sample of 24 participants was recruited from three hospitals located at Sanandaj, Iran. Study data were collected in 2013 by using semi-structured individual interviews. A content analysis approach was used to analyze the study data and MAXQDA was used for coding and categorizing the data. RESULTS: The main theme of the study was “professional support as a facilitator to the development of nurse's clinical judgment.” The sub-themes of this main theme included “provision of direct support to nurses” and “provision of clinical judgment resources.” The first sub-theme consisted of different types of managerial, clinical, educational, and social supports. The two categories of the second sub-theme included the provision of necessary clinical evidence and the provision of medical equipments. CONCLUSION: The study findings highlighted the importance of providing nurses with adequate professional support for facilitating the development of their clinical judgment.