Final answer:
Systems thinking in nursing involves using individual patient care to improve health outcomes on a broader level and understanding the interconnectedness of different healthcare aspects affecting community health.
Step-by-step explanation:
An experienced nurse might explain systems thinking to a new nurse as the approach of using information gathered from individual client care to assess and improve health outcomes on a broader or macro level. Rather than focusing on one patient at a time, systems thinking involves understanding how different aspects of healthcare, such as cultural systems, policies, practices, and the environments, interact and affect the health outcomes of communities and larger populations. This concept aligns with the application of models like Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory in healthcare, which recognizes the interactions among various systems like family, community institutions, and larger sociopolitical contexts in influencing individual and public health.