Criticаl Thinking vs. Clinicаl Judgment (The Nursing Prоcess) The Originаl Prоmpt: Differentiate between critical thinking and clinical judgment using the five steps оf ADPIE. The Day-of Twist: The Post-Operative Complication. Scenario: You are assessing a patient who returned from major abdominal surgery three hours ago. Their surgical dressing is clean and dry, but their heart rate has steadily climbed from 75 to 110 beats per minute over the last hour, and they are increasingly restless. Application: Walk through ADPIE using this specific patient. Show exactly what information you are assessing, what your nursing diagnosis/priority is, and how your clinical judgment guides your immediate intervention before you even call the provider.