Ideas & Inspiration for Using Clinical Decision Cards
Time to read 5 min
Table of contents
😳 Prepare for the Unexpected 🏁 Getting Started with a Deck 📝 Working with a Care Plan 💡 Ideas for Classroom and Clinical 1. Rapid Response Relay 🏎️ 2. Story Builder: "How Did We Get Here?" 📖 3. Priority Ladder 🪜 4. The “Wrong Chart” Challenge 🚩 5. Clinical Corners ‼️ Have you used the clinical decision cards in other creative ways?
Frequently Asked Questions
You want your clinical days to be rich with learning. Full of moments where students connect theory to practice and build confidence in their clinical judgment. But some days, everything goes smoothly.
Patients are stable, complications are minimal, and students go through the motions without much challenge. On those days, how can you create meaningful opportunities for students to strengthen their clinical judgment?
😳 Prepare for the Unexpected
Things don't always go according to plan, but with limited time in a unit, students may not always encounter common complications.
The Clinical Decision Cards will help you build more opportunities for clinical judgment by giving students abnormal assessment findings or common complication scenarios to work through in a low-stress environment.
Don't have a set of clinical decision cards yet?
Four variations available:
- Medical Surgical
- Pediatrics
- OB
- Mental Health
🏁 Getting Started with a Deck
To start using the Clinical Decision Cards, follow these instructions:
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Pick a Card
Students pick a card containing abnormal assessment findings or clinical red flags. -
Uncover New Clinical Information
Using their assigned patient from clinical, lab, or a case study, they imagine caring for them with the new information from the card.
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Complete a Care Plan
Students create a plan of care based on this new abnormal assessment, including their nursing interventions, teaching plan, and evaluation techniques. -
Upon Completion
Students have demonstrated clinical judgment and decision-making when presented with abnormal or unexpected findings.
📝 Working with a Care Plan
Each deck comes with a free, ready-to-use care plan download, perfect for when you need something quick or want a simplified option alongside your school’s paperwork.
💡 Ideas for Classroom and Clinical
Check out the suggestions below for additional ideas and activities to use the Clinical Decision Cards.
1. Rapid Response Relay 🏎️
Divide students into small teams and line them up for a relay. At the front of each line is a clinical decision card turned face-down. One student from each team flips their card and has 60 seconds to:
Identify the abnormal finding,
Suggest one priority nursing action,
Pass it back to their team to add one additional consideration (e.g., related pathophysiology, likely provider orders, or labs to monitor).
Continue the relay until all team members have contributed. Debrief as a class with the most well-rounded or accurate team sharing their rationale.
💡 This adds time pressure and collaboration, making the activity fast-paced and focused on priority setting and teamwork that mirrors real-world clinical urgency.
2. Story Builder: "How Did We Get Here?" 📖
Each small group receives one card. Their task is to work backwards. They must create a short, logical narrative that leads up to the abnormal finding on their card. This includes:
The patient’s history or risk factors,
Possible missed assessments or red flags,
Earlier symptoms or trends that would have signaled the problem.
Bonus: Have each group share their story with the class and have others guess the final assessment finding.
💡 It strengthens students’ ability to connect assessment to etiology, promotes clinical reasoning, and reinforces illness progression.
3. Priority Ladder 🪜
Post 5–6 different cards around the room. Ask students to rotate in small groups and rank each finding on a scale from 1 to 5 based on urgency or priority for action. After everyone rotates, return to each station for a group discussion and compare rankings. Prompt: “What would make this higher or lower priority?”
💡 This allows students to practice priority setting, introduces variability in patient context, and invites critical discussion around nuance, which is key NCLEX-level thinking.
4. The “Wrong Chart” Challenge 🚩
Give students a stable patient scenario (age, diagnosis, vitals, recent labs) to review. Then, introduce a clinical decision card that doesn’t seem to match the picture. Their job: determine whether this card is a documentation error, a sudden change, or a hidden trend, and justify their decision.
Follow-up: Ask what their next action would be (reassess, notify provider, escalate care).
💡 This activity encourages students to question and investigate discrepancies, skills essential in real practice.
5. Clinical Corners ‼️
Designate four corners of the classroom as follows:
A: This is a normal finding
B: Assess more before acting
C: Requires prompt nursing action
D: Notify the provider immediately
Shuffle and display one clinical decision card at a time. Students walk to the corner that best matches their clinical judgment. Once everyone chooses a corner, prompt volunteers from each group to explain their reasoning. Then reveal the best clinical approach and discuss subtle differences.
Optional: Occasionally present borderline or context-dependent findings to spark deeper discussion (e.g., "Is this bradycardia okay in a patient with CHF who is taking beta-blockers?").
💡 This adds movement, peer discussion, and real-time decision-making, helping students practice recognizing patterns and defending their clinical choices.
Have you used the clinical decision cards in other creative ways?
Let me know, I would love to hear from you! Send me a message!
Conclusion
These cards are designed to engage students in active thinking by presenting realistic, layered clinical situations that don’t have just one right answer.
Whether you use them in a lecture, lab, or clinical post-conference, the cards can be adapted to fit your timing and teaching goals with minimal prep required.
Unlike flashcards or trivia, these cards promote reasoning, reflection, and prioritization which are skills your students need to succeed on the floor and on the NCLEX.
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes Clinical Decision Cards different from traditional case studies?
Unlike case studies that walk students through a linear scenario, Clinical Decision Cards present open-ended situations with multiple priorities. This encourages students to use clinical judgment and to practice decision-making in a safe, low-stakes environment.
How can I use these cards in different teaching settings?
The cards are highly adaptable and can be used in lectures, skills labs, simulations, or clinical post-conferences. You can use them for small group discussions, individual reflection, or as quick warm-up or wrap-up activities.
Do the cards align with the Clinical Judgment Measurement Model (CJMM)?
Yes, each card is crafted to align with the CJMM by prompting students to recognize cues, analyze data, prioritize actions, and reflect on outcomes.
Martha Johnson
Martha Johnson, MSN, RN is a nurse educator and the creator of BreakoutRN. She helps nursing faculty build active learning into the classroom and clinical setting, one practical idea at a time, using tools that support clinical judgment, engagement, and real-world nursing practice.
