Models, Measurement, and Strategies in Developing Critical-Thinking Skills

Abstract

Health care professionals must use critical-thinking skills to solve increasingly complex problems. Educators need to help nurses develop their critical-thinking skills to maintain and enhance their competence. This article reviews various models of critical thinking, as well as methods used to evaluate critical thinking. Specific educational strategies to develop nurses' critical-thinking skills are discussed. Additional research studies are needed to determine how the process of nursing practice can nurture and develop critical-thinking skills, and which strategies are most effective in developing and evaluating critical thinking.

Assessing Individual Frontline Nurse Critical Thinking

“…These include the Performance-Based Development System (PBDS), clinical narratives, Watson Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal, California Critical Thinking Skills Test, California Critical-Thinking Disposition Inventory, Adult Medical Nursing Critical Thinking Test, Assessment of Critical Thinking in Perioperative Nurses, Enis-Weir Critical Thinking Test, Cornell Critical-Thinking Test, and the HESI Exam. [5][6][7] For the minority of hospitals and health systems routinely conducting critical-thinking assessments for frontline nurses, 2 methodologies predominate: PBDS and clinical narratives. 3 The PBDS is a scenario-based, online competency assessment completed by frontline nurses.…”

Performance and palliative care: a drama module for medical students

“…It is useful to use other modes of learning to introduce new approaches offered by drama strategies which can lead to new knowledge generation, and provide alternatives ways of approaching problems 19. Brunt refers to the need for health care professionals to develop critical thinking skills to address increasingly complex problems 19. She states that critical thinking is necessary to create practitioners who are independent in their thinking, who can respond adequately to the needs of patients.…”

Problem-Based Learning in the NICU

“…9(p48) Working through realistic problem situations can help prepare them for a time when they experience similar situations in the actual work setting. 10 The potential benefits of Pbl do not end with the training of new nurses. With the exponential expansion of medical information, it is unrealistic to expect experienced nurses to be prepared for every situation they may encounter.…”