The purpose of this study was to examine the ways in which last semester senior
baccalaureate nursing students perceive they learn to make clinical decisions and to determine
the nature of the decisions they make. In addition, possible relationships between clinical
decision making and the predictor variables (participants’ age, baccalaureate program type,
previous degree/s, previous healthcare experience, and minority status) were explored.
Hammond’s Cognitive Continuum Theory (Hammond & McClelland, 1980, Hammond, 1981)
provided the theoretical framework for the study.