DECISION-MAKING TASK COMPLEXITY - MODEL DEVELOPMENT AND INITIAL TESTING

Preparing skilled decision-makers requires an understanding of the dec ision-making tasks nurses face. This article presents the development and initial testing of a model of decision-making task complexity in n ursing. The Decision-Making Task Complexity Model has its roots in New ell and Simon's (1972) Information Processing Theory. The Model includ es two components, content and context, along with five characteristic s in each component. The content component of the model was initially tested using a single sample repeated measures design. Case study exam ples of a weaning task in critical care were developed to include all combinations of the four independent variables: irrelevance, ambiguity , conflict, and change. Forty-one registered critical care nurses rate d each case study example on a scale from 1 (least complex) to 7 (most complex). Results indicated that when conflict was manipulated the ra tings were consistently higher. Implications for nursing education and the development of decision-making skills are described.