What’s New in the 2026 Edition?

All chapters in the previous edition of Think Like a Nurse: The Caputi Method for Learning Clinical Judgment have been reviewed and updated as needed. Based on this review a number of changes were made in each chapter including the addition of two chapters. Following is an explanation of those changes starting with a description of each of the two new chapters.

• Two entirely new chapters are included in the 2026 edition of the text.
  • Chapter 11: Preparing for the NCLEX^®: The Caputi Method: The Connection between Clinical Judgment and the NCLEX^® Licensing Exam. This chapter takes a different approach to preparing students for NCLEX^®. It does not teach them about test taking strategies to answer the new questions of the Next Generation NCLEX^®. There are plenty of other resources that do that as the approach for preparing students for NCLEX^®. There are two components to the NCLEX^®: content and clinical judgment both of which apply to all the test items on the exam, not just the new Next Generation NCLEX^® formats. Chapter 11 provides a process for using the detailed test plan to ensure the content is learned. Other sources used to prepare students for the NCLEX^® do not drill down to the detailed objectives which is problematic because those detailed objectives represent what is actually tested. Faculty often map out the detailed objectives to courses that address each one. This is helpful to faculty but not to students. Students take the NCLEX^® not faculty. Students must be actively engaged in the detailed NCLEX^® test plan starting in the first nursing courses. The chapter provides a plan to do just that. The chapter then teaches students about the thinking needed to answer NCLEX^® questions. In addition to the entire book teaching about clinical judgment, the cognitive levels of test items are explained in this chapter, so students are well-informed about the cognitive levels tested on the NCLEX^® – which are at the “applying” and higher levels. Just telling students they will be presented with “applying” and higher-level questions does not help if they do not understand what the various cognitive levels mean.
  • Chapter 12: Artificial Intelligence: A Tool, not a Replacement for Clinical Judgment. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is becoming rapidly infused into all of society and nursing education is no exception. This chapter provides an easy-to-understand explanation about the types of AI that are currently being used in nursing education and how they relate to clinical judgment. The pros and cons of using AI in nursing education are presented.
• The 23 thinking skills (clinical judgment competencies) have been retained with the addition of 1 new one for a total of 24 clinical judgment competencies.
• Some minor changes in the verbiage of the framework have been made.
• The entire framework forms the basis for what students need to learn to use the 6 cognitive processes of the Next Generation NCLEX^®. The 24 clinical judgment competencies represent the actual detailed thinking needed to demonstrate use of the 6 cognitive processes of the Next Gen NCLEX^®. This edition provides a clear explanation of the alignment between the Caputi Clinical Judgment Framework and the cognitive processes of the Next Generation NCLEX^® demonstrating that learning the detailed cognitive processes of the Caputi Clinical Judgment Framework is necessary for learning how to think using the 6 major cognitive processes tested on the Next Generation NCLEX^®.
• Introductory Level Nursing Content: Throughout the book there are many examples of clinical judgment applied to nursing. These examples include nursing knowledge that is new to the beginning student. For this reason, the content mentioned in examples and activities does not represent the full depth and breadth of information on that topic. The intent is to use basic and introductory content so students can focus on learning clinical judgment without becoming overwhelmed with heavy nursing content. Students will learn the nursing content in more depth throughout the nursing program. However, if this textbook is introduced later in the program, the student should be expected to use the depth and breadth of the material they have learned thus far.