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Teach the way nurses practice.

Free Educator Guide + Student Worksheet:

The 6 R’s of Clinical Reasoning

An easy-to-remember, practice-informed teaching framework based on Tanner’s Clinical Judgment Model that helps students identify risks to prevent failure to rescue.

The 6 Rs of Clinical Reasoning

What are the 6 R's of clinical reasoning?

1. RECOGNIZE what’s relevant

Nurses must identify the most critical and abnormal findings from patient assessments, records, and reports. This helps prioritize care and avoid being overwhelmed by excessive, less important data.

2. RELATIONSHIPS recognized

Connecting patterns among clinical findings including vital signs, lab results, and assessment findings helps build a clear picture of what’s happening with the patient. It transforms scattered data into meaningful insight.

3. RESPOND to current priority

Once the clinical picture is made visible, nurses must act on what matters most right now. This step emphasizes timely, prioritized nursing interventions to provide safe patient care.

4. RISKS & RED flags identified

Reflects practice-informed thinking. Safe practice requires anticipating complications before they occur by identifying early warning signs. This step encourages clinical vigilance and proactive thinking to anticipate and recognize a potential complication early.

5. RE-EVALUATE patient’s response

Determine whether nursing interventions were effective and determine what adjustments are needed.

6. REFLECT and REFINE thinking

Looking back on clinical judgments made after clinical builds stronger clinical judgment over time. This reflective step turns every patient experience into a learning opportunity.
Meet Keith

Meet Keith

After 25 years at the bedside in various settings, including the ED and ICU, Keith Rischer saw the gap firsthand: nursing education prioritized preparing students for the NCLEX, a minimal competency exam, but not for the rigors of real-world clinical practice.

That disconnect sparked a mission. Today, KeithRN equips nurse educators with evidence-based tools and teaching frameworks that go beyond NCLEX prep to develop the clinical judgment, professional identity, and compassionate care that safe nursing practice requires.

Go to KeithRN.com