In preparation for the progressive nature of today's acute care hospital environments and the requirements for safe and effective patient care, it is essential that nursing students learn how to think critically. Problem-based learning is a method of education designed to encourage critical thinking. This article examines the evidence regarding the use of problem-based learning to improve critical thinking. A review of published literature was conducted using the CINAHL, ERIC, PsychInfo, and PubMed databases with the keywords nursing, problem-based learning, and critical thinking. Although the evidence is still accumulating, the studies reviewed indicate a positive relationship between problem-based learning and improved critical thinking in nursing students. There is a need for more rigorous research on the use of problem-based learning to examine the effects on critical thinking. Until this occurs, nursing instructors must rely on the extant evidence to guide their practice or continue to use the traditional model of clinical nursing education.

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Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate potential benefits of use of an abdominal binder after cesarean birth. Study Design and Methods: A randomized controlled trial was conducted at a Magnet-designated, academic medical center in the southwest United States. English- and Spanish-speaking adult women scheduled for an elective cesarean birth were randomized to the intervention or control group. Outcomes were measured for the first 48 hours postoperatively, including pain, medication use, and self-reported symptom distress. Results: Randomization resulted in balanced groups. Women who used the abdominal binder after cesarean birth reported a decrease in pain after ambulation, whereas women in the control group reported an increase in pain after ambulation (p < .001). Women in the binder group reported less distress on the Breathe and Cough items of the Symptom Distress Scale than those in the control group. On postoperative day 2, women in the binder group used more ibuprofen (p = .002) and acetaminophen (p = .027) than the control group. Clinical Implications: Use of an abdominal binder by women after cesarean birth can decrease pain, potentially enhancing speed of postoperative recovery. As a nursing intervention, abdominal binders may offer women a safe nonpharmacologic option to provide postoperative comfort.