Influences that drive clinical decision-making among rheumatology nurses. Part 1: literature review.

Decisions nurses make while providing patient care to their client group will impact on the patient's immediate and long-term outcomes and will also impact on service provision. Although many studies have focused on the clinical decision-making process itself within general nursing areas, little has been published as to what factors influence decisions in rheumatology nursing at the clinical level. Initial review of the literature suggested the following themes could influence decision-making: clinical decision-making, intuition, evidence-based practice, experiential learning, knowing the patient, skilled knowledge and rheumatology nursing. This article examines the literature surrounding clinical decision-making which may influence decision-making within rheumatology nursing practice.