THE PERCEPTION AND JUDGMENT OF SENIOR BACCALAUREATE STUDENT NURSES INCLINICAL DECISION-MAKING

This descriptive, exploratory study sought to validate Brook's theory of intrapersonal perceptual awareness, a middle-range theory derived f rom King's interacting systems framework and to extend King's work by making perception (sensory and intuitive), judgment (cognitive and aff ective), and decision making explicit concepts in the personal system. The results supported the theory's central premise and clarified the interaction between perception and judgment but did not support bringi ng perception, judgment, and decision making into the personal system as proposed. Self emerged as the core concept and the results are used to recommend a proposed reconceptualization of King's personal system as self.