Introduction
“Critical thinking is the art of thinking about thinking while thinking in order to make thinking better. It involves three interwoven phases: it analyzes thinking, it evaluates thinking, it improves thinking” (Paul and Elder, 2001). This definition seems to challenge the strong minded individual to ‘quality check’ his or her thoughts. I will share how I have used critical thinking in a work-related situation and give some insight into why I believe critical thinking is an important part of the decision-making process.
Think About It
< FONT size=3>“The best thinkers use their ability to think well in every dimension of their lives.” (Paul and Elder, 2001), This quote means a great deal to me because I have always been referred to as an ‘over thinker, analyzer, detective’ and all other words of that descriptive category. It was only when I was older and more seriously engrossed in the working world that I realized nothing is wrong with me other than the fact that I am a strong critical thinker. In a fairly complex job as a Medicare claims processor, I was faced with a decision on how to create a workaround for a particular system error that was happening with my members’ routine-visit health claims. Having knowledge of what the system logic was based on for a claim to adjudicate properly through the system, I spent some time thinking about what the system would accept that might act as a temporary workaround. I tried several system inputs that I knew worked for other claims issues, but to no avail for my current claims processing dilemma. Then one Thursday morning it ‘clicked’, since the matter of the error was based on the provider not including a standard medical diagnosis code in the claim, I thought of a generic ...