Critical thinking in clinical nursing education : how far have we come?

With the recent changes in health care delivery, nurses must perform assessments and care efficiently, making decisions about nursing actions that require critical thinking. In nursing education, students must be taught how to use reflective and critical thinking to meet the challenge of the practice environment. The National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission (NLNAC) has designated critical thinking as one of the required outcome criteria for nursing programs. Sullivan's (1992) Setting the Stage for Critical Thinking Model outlined eight methods for stimulating critical thinking skills among student nurses in the clinical setting. These methods formed the framework for this research. The purpose of this study is to examine the teaching methods used by nursing faculty to promote critical thinking by student nurses in the clinical setting, and to verify the findings of Sullivan's (1992) model. This study utilizes a descriptive design.The Critical Thinking Methods of Instruction Assay was developed by the researcher to measure how each teaching method fulfills the five outcomes of teaching critical thinking as outlined in Sullivan's (1992) model. All clinical instructors from Indiana-Purdue University at Fort Wayne, University of Saint Francis and Ball State University that choose to participate will be interviewed individually and will complete the Critical Thinking Methods of Instruction Assay. Demographic data will also be collected regarding type and length of experience in teaching clinical nursing. Descriptive statistics will be used to analyze the data.The directors of the targeted schools of nursing will be notified of the purpose and procedures of the study and permission will be sought to present the purpose and design of the study to the clinical instructors at a department meeting. The Critical Thinking Methods of Instruction Assay will be distributed at the time of the presentation. The questionnaire will be collected at the time of the interview or clinical observation. Only group data will be reported and no names will appear. No risks have been identified for this study. This study is significant because it lends the opportunity to learn more about the methods that are being used to stimulate the use of critical thinking skills among clinical nursing students and share the results with other nursing faculty.School of NursingThesis (M.S.