Critical thinking in community health nursing Because of thecomplcxil)1 of problems, issues and concerns t J1attheyface in their day­ to-day professional practic11, nurses need to thinlk criticallv. l>andman and Bandman (1995:7) defined critical thinking as the ''rntional e:rnmi;ation of idens, inferences, assumplions, principles, argume_nts, conclusions, issues, statements, beliefs and actions". l11is means that mirses should not accept as true o. r correct somell1 iug simply because others say so or continue to do certain things because these l1ave been done by their seniors. Critical thinking in nursing means U1at nurses sh. ould: (1) use the processes of critical iliinking in all of daily lh>ing; (2) discriminate among the uses and miimses of lant~uage in nursing; l3) identify and formulate nursing problems; (4) analyze mea L1ings of terms in" relation lo their indkation. their cause or purpose, and their significance; (5) analy1. e arguments and issues into premises and conclusions; (6) examine nursing assumptions; (7) report data and dues accurately; (8) make and check inferences hascd on data, making sure that the inferences arc, al least. plausil>le; (9) fornmla le imd clnrify beliefs; ( w) verify, corroborate, and justify claims. beliufs, couclusions, decisions and actions; (u) give relevant reasons for beliefs and conclusions; (12) formufal e an<l clarify \'aluejudgments; (13) seek reasons, cdtcria, 1111d p,rinciples that effectively justify value judgments: and, (14) evahmte U1e soundness of conclusions. Nursing process Nursing process is the main framework or guide in nursing practice ru1cl the means by which nurses work with clicnt-partn. ers to enhance wellness or address the healtb needs and problems of lhcir clients. Jl is a logical and systematic way of processing information gathered from diff'erent sources and translating intentions into meaningful actions or interventions. There are five phases: asse. ~sment, diagnosis, planning of outcomes and interventions, implementation and evaluation, The nurse starts with the establishment of a working relationship. '111c nursing process by type of client-parlner is well illustrated in specific chapters in the book. 34 Establishing a working relationship The relationship between CHNs nnd their clients lasts for months or years; it does not end after tbe resolution of a health problem of the client. Particufarly in mral communities, PHNsare either personally related to their clients or the latter are friends or acquaintances. Establishing a working relationship based on respect, tn1st, shared goals and cla'rity of expectations results in positive outcomes such as good qua Uty of collected data, partnership iu addressing identified l1ealth needs and problems, and satisfaction of the nurse am! the client in wu. rking loge LI rer. Assessment Assessment is the process of collecting, organizing and analyzing data/information about the clicnl. The CHN should collect nor just quantitati ve but also qualitative data. Qualitative data gi\'e a more in-depth underst:tn<ling not just of the clients' health and nursing problems but their lived experience. Qualitative data represent the clients' perspective while tl1e quantitative data are collected from the nurse's poin l of view. 