LEVEL OF CRITICAL THINKING ABILITY AMONG NURSING STUDENTS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31674/mjn.2019.v11i02.004Abstract
Introduction: Critical thinking is an important element in nursing practice as well as being a vital educational outcome in any nursing curriculum. Critical thinking can influence the outcome of patient care and patient satisfaction.
Objective: To determine the level of critical thinking ability among nursing students in two nursing colleges and its differences according to social demographic variables.
Method: This was a cross sectional descriptive study design in which Critical Ability Scale for College Students were used to collect data from 158 nursing students in two private nursing colleges in Malaysia. Participants were recruited through convenience sampling.
Results: The mean overall score for critical thinking ability was 70.6±6.98 with scores ranging from 56 to 89. The mean score of the subscales was 3.63±0.50 for intellectual, eagerness and health skepticism abilities, 3.63±0.42 for intellectual honesty ability, 3.61± 0.41 for prudence ability and 2.68±0.64 for objectivity ability. There are no significant differences between the independent variables and level of critical thinking ability.
Conclusion: A high critical thinking ability score was reported with intellectual, eagerness and health skepticism being the highest subscale. The way forward requires academicians and clinicians to work together to ensure a transfer of knowledge and skills from the classroom to the clinical environment in order to develop and enhance the ability to think critically in making clinical decision and produce thinking nurses for the future.
Keywords:
Critical Thinking, Critical Thinking Ability, Nursing StudentsDownloads
References
Abeer, R.K. & Sahar, A.E.M.E. (2016). The correlation of critical thinking disposition and approaches to learning among baccalaureate nursing students. Journal of Education and Practice, 7(32), pp 91- 103.
Aliakbari, F., Parvin, N., Heidari, M., & Haghani, F. (2015). Learning theories application in nursing education. Journal of education and health promotion, 4: 2.
Azizi-Fini, I., Hajibagheri, A. & Adib-Hajbaghery, M. (2015). Critical thinking skills in nursing students: a comparison between freshmen and senior students. Nursing and midwifery studies, 4(1), e25721.
Choi, E., Linquist, R., Song, Y., (2014). Effects of problem-based learning vs. traditional lecture on Korean nursing students' critical thinking, problem-solving, and self-directed learning. Nurse Education Today, 34(1), pp52-56.
Da Silva, B.A. & Krishnamurthy, M. (2016). The alarming reality of medication error: a patient case and review of Pennsylvania and National data. Journal of Community Hospital Internal Medicine Perspectives, 6(4).
Gholami, M., Moghadam, P.K., Mohammadipoor, F., Tarahi, M.J., Sak, M., Toulabi, T. & Pour,
A.H. (2016). Comparing the effects of problem-based learning and the traditional lecture method on critical thinking skills and metacognitive awareness in nursing students in a critical care nursing course. Nurses Education Today, 45, pp 16-21.
Gunaydin, N. & Barlas, G.U. (2015). Determination the critical thinking and empathy disposition of nursing students. Middle Black Sea Journal of Health Science, 1(3), pages 1-8.
Hong, S. & Yu, P. (2017). Comparison of the effectiveness of two styles of case-based learning implemented in lectures for developing nursing students critical thinking ability: A randomized controlled trial. International Journal Nursing Study, 68, pp 16-24.
Howes, M. (2015). Objectivity, intellectual virtue, and community, in F. Padovani, A. Richardson & J. Y. Tsou (eds.), Objectivity in science, Dordrecht, Springer, pp. 173-188.
Hunter, S., Pitt, V., Croce, N. & Roche, J. (2014). Critical thinking skills of undergraduate nursing students: description and demographic predictors. Nurses Education Today, 34(5), pp 809-814.
Hussein Ibrahim, R. (2016). Critical thinking dispositions among students of Mosul’s Nursing College.The Malaysian Journal of Nursing, 7(2), pp 3-7.
Jackson, Y.M. (2016). An exploration of the effectiveness of problem-based learning in nursing education. Minnesota: Walden University, Dissertations and Doctoral Studies.
Kim, K.S. & Choi, J.H. (2014). The relationship between problem solving ability, professional self-concept and critical thinking disposition of nursing students. International Journal of Bio- Science and Bio-Technology, 6(5), pp 131-142.
Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia. (2010). Development of nursing education in Malaysia towards the year 2020. Shah Alam, Malaysia: University Publication Centre.
Moradi, T. & Taghadosi, M. (2016). The effect of problem-based learning clinical education on nursing standard’s critical thinking. Future of Medical Education Journal, 6(3), pp 20-25.
Ng, Y.M. (2015). Critical thinking skills among trained nurses on patient diabetic care management: A case study (Doctor of Philosophy thesis, USM, Penang, Malaysia).
Park, S.H. (1999). The effects of the program for the improvement of college students' critical thinking ability. Journal of Educational Psychology, 13(4), pp 93–112.
Pitt, V., Powis, D., Levett-Jones, T. & Hunter, S. (2015). The influence of critical thinking skills on performance and progression in a preregistration nursing program. Nursing Education Today, 35(1), pp 125-31.
Raosoft (2004). Sample Size Calculation. Retrieved from http://www.raosoft.com/samplesize.html
Rezaeil, R., Saatsaz, S., Sharif, H.N., Moulookzadeh, S. & Behedhti, Z. (2015). Anxiety and Critical Thinking Skills in Nursing Students. British Journal of Education, Society & Behavioural Science,10(2), pp 1-7.
Selen. O.A. & Filiz. S. (2015). Nursing Student’s Critical Thinking Levels. The European Proceedings of Social & Behavioural Sciences, pp 74-82.
Shin, K.R., Lee, J.H., Ha, J.Y. & Kim, K.H. (2006). Critical thinking dispositions in baccalaureate nursing students. Journal of Advance Nursing, 56(2), pp 182-189.
Song, J.Y, Zhu, X.L., Liu, C.P., Miao, X.X. Lin, X.Z., Guo, H.L. & Tang, C. (2014). Comparison of clinical thinking ability in nursing students of different grades. Chinese Nursing Research, 1, pages 1- 4.
Wang, X.X., Sun, X.X., Huang, T.H., He, R.Q., Hao, W.N. & Zhang, L. (2018). Development and validation of critical thinking disposition inventory for Chinese medical college students. BMC Medical Education, 19(1), 200.
