Final answer:
The nursing process step associated with cognitively skilled nurses is 'Assessing.' This step is pivotal in evaluating patient health status and making critical decisions.
Step-by-step explanation:
The step in the nursing process most closely associated with cognitively skilled nurses is Assessing (A). The assessment phase is a critical step that involves a structured and deliberate collection of data to determine a client's current and past health status, functional status, and any present or past coping patterns. As a cognitive process, assessing requires nurses to integrate knowledge from various fields, critically think about the information, and use clinical judgment to identify health problems. This is where the expertise and cognitive skills of a nurse are crucial to making informed decisions about the care of a patient.