Argument:     How do you know….. evidence for the reason

Explanation: How is that so…..cause for the reason

Required Resources

Read/review the following resources for this activity:

• Textbook: Chapter 1, 2
• Lesson
• Minimum of 1 scholarly source

Initial Post Instructions

Chapter 1 shows a model of Bloom’s taxonomy – they are the steps to mastery of any learning endeavor and the basic components of critical reasoning. They have recently been simplified and reordered as follows:

• Remember
• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create

Beyond remembering – after all, when the surgeon asks for a Satinsky, you don’t want to have to look it up on your Smartphone – how do you think Bloom’s steps will apply to you as you pursue your career in the healthcare professions? Answer this question with an argument or an explanation.

Next, practice your analytical skills by examining why it is important for a healthcare professional to be able to distinguish between arguments and explanations.

• Suppose you see a set of symptoms in a patient or a need for resource allocation. Do you want to explain the reason for their appearance of symptoms or the need for the resource, or must you argue your case? For this, you will need to know, and explain in your post, what makes a set of claims an argument or an explanation (Chapter 2).

As the text states, it is important to be able to effectively use critical thinking skills and be able to justify them based on the decision that was made (Jackson & Newberry, 2016). Bloom’s Taxonomy requires a higher level of cognitive function in order to dissect the information gathered and allows for a deeper understanding of a subject, which in turn helps to make decisions (Jackson & Newberry, 2016).  In the nursing profession Bloom’s Taxonomy can be applied by taking the knowledge that they have acquired and actually applying it to the nursing practice.  For example, a nurse must first understand the disease process and how it is affecting a patient, so the nurse is best able to care for that patient and provide necessary support and education, as well as advance the outcomes of the patient’s plan of care (Su & Osisek, 2011).

If a patient is presenting with a set of symptoms or the need for the allocation of resources, it would be more appropriate to explain the reason why this patient has the symptoms rather than arguing the case.  By explaining the reason for the symptoms, facts are being presented and it is more easily understood by both the patient and other health professionals.  Providing an explanation helps to identify the cause for the symptoms.  If this case were to be argued, then the facts of the case may not be presented correctly, and other influences or beliefs could begin to sway the argument one way or another (Jackson & Newberry, 2016).