Perceived barriers to teaching critical thinking skills in a baccalaureate nursing program

According to the consensus statement on critical thinking in nursing (Scheffer and Rubenfeld, 2000), critical thinking in nursing use the skills of analyzing, applying standards, discriminating, information seeking, logical reasoning, predicting and transforming knowledge. Some believe that the clinical setting may inhibit critical thinking for nursing students. Critical thinking is not possible without open-mindedness (Fetter, 2001). The purpose of this study is to determine perceived barriers to teaching critical thinking skills in baccalaureate nursing programs. This will be a descriptive study based on a modified replication of Shell's (2001) study on perceived barriers to teaching critical thinking skills by BSN faculty. The sample will be nurse educators in NLN accredited baccalaureate nursing programs in the Midwest. Permission will be obtained from Ball State University, as well as the deans of selected BSN programs. A survey using a 5-point Likert scale related to perceived barriers to teaching critical thinking skills in a baccalaureate nursing program will be available to participants using an online system. The findings will provide information on barriers to teaching critical thinking skills to baccalaureate nursing students.School of NursingThesis (M.S.