Critical Thinking In Nursing Education

The sample consisted of 31.4% diploma nurses, 41% associated degree nurses, and 27.6% baccalaureate nurses. Most had less than one year experience, but 24.5% had ten or more years’ experience. These groups were divided into two categories, and then divided again based on educational levels. It is not surprising that the data showed the nurses with more than ten years’ experience differed significantly on the pass rates than the less than one year experienced nurses. “Approximately 25% of newly hired nurses had deficiencies in critical thinking ability, including problem recognition, reporting essential clinical data, initiating independent nursing interventions, anticipating relevant medical orders, providing relevant rational to support …show more content…
One research article by Rapps, Riegel, & Glaser (2001) suggest that experience and not formal education that is needed to produce a critical thinker. Perhaps more of the nursing education experience need to be in clinical setting to help develop these imperative critical thinking skills. Until these skills can be met the best a hospital can do is make sure they have the balance of experience and novice nurses within their unit and scheduled on the same shifts. This issue continues to be a struggle for new nurses and for colleges teaching these new nurses. More studies need to be done that involve how to teach critical thinking, and how it is …show more content…
There are a few ways to measure critical thinking skills such as the California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory (CCTDI), the California Critical Thinking Skills Test (CCTST), and there is even a questionnaire Critical thinking Self-Assessment Questionnaire 807, published by Continuing Professional Development (CPD). There are several websites to test your critical thinking skills. The questionnaire by CPD consists of ten questions that could be asked of any individual not simply individuals in the nursing profession. The CCTDI consist of 75 generic statements which are answered using a six-point Likert scale. “Each statement corresponds to the subscales or dispositions of truth seeking, open-mindedness, analyticity, systematicity, self-confidence, inquisitiveness, and maturity” (Raymond & Profetto-McGraft, 2005 p. 211). The CCTST is about generic situations and is 34 multiple-choice questions. This questionnaire consists of five different subscales: analysis, evaluation, inference, deductive reasoning, and inductive reasoning (Facione and Facione, 1994a: Profetto-McGraft,