Required Resources

Read/review the following resources for this activity:

• Textbook: Chapter 5, 6
• Lesson
• Minimum of 1 scholarly source

Initial Post Instructions

Deductive arguments are top-down, working from general principles to specific cases. Inductive reasoning, on the other hand, is bottom-up, working from specific observations and looking for patterns that lead to a general conclusion. Your career path in healthcare and health-related fields will present many problems that will require critical reasoning. Think about potential issues or even issues you have already encountered. Determine what type of critical reasoning – inductive or deductive – best suits the situation – or do you need both? If you are short on ideas, use one of these scenarios as a starting point:

• Suppose you are on a committee that has to decide whether to cut nursing staff or social services staff. How would you approach the problem?
• Suppose your hospital suddenly sees an enormous increase in emergency room patients, and you are on a committee to investigate the problem and relieve pressure on the ER. How would you approach the problem?