Building the Foundation: Utilizing Concept Maps to Enhance Critical Thinking in First Semester Nursing Students

Critical thinking and clinical decision making are essential components of the knowledge and skills necessary for all nurses in order to make complex decisions that improve patient outcomes, safety, and quality of nursing care. Promoting student competence in critical thinking skills is imperative for nurse educators. Concept mapping is an active teaching strategy that can assist nurse educators in preparing nursing students to think critically in today’s complex health care environment. The purpose of this project was to implement concept maps as an additional instructional activity with first semester Associate Degree Nursing (ADN) students to promote confidence in basic critical thinking skills. It was foreseen the first semester ADN student would demonstrate beginning skills in concept map development anticipated to lead to critical thinking applicable in the practice of nursing