Developing nursing students' decision making skills: are early warning scoring systems helpful?

This paper is presented to contribute to the emerging debate on Early Warning Scoring Systems. The Early Warning Scoring System was introduced, and has been implemented internationally, to aid in the identification of the patient whose condition is deteriorating. Early identification of patient deterioration is of vital importance for patient safety. Therefore how we teach this skill to students and how they become competent and confident in its utilisation, interpretation and subsequent clinical decision-making is crucial.