ABSTRACT
Many nursing students believe academic success, demonstrated by a high-grade point average, are guarantees for the successful completion of a nursing program. Clinical assignments may already be developed using a nursing theory as framework. Assignments may include: Journaling, reflective papers, care plans and concept maps about an assigned patient and health care team interactions. Most nursing schools require students to purchase a nursing diagnosis textbook. Obtaining instructor's own copy will assist instructor immensely when it comes time to evaluate and grade these assignments. A substantial responsibility as a clinical instructor is reading, reviewing and grading clinical assignments and care maps. Although clinical assignments and exercises are very useful, critical thinking and measurement of it remains elusive. The goal is to help student nurses recognize the real-world scenarios that nurses face deciding on interventions to attain best outcome for their patients. Ideally the student will mention past medical history and how it may have influenced the current situation for the patient.
