Nursing in a time of change: a case for critical thinking

Like all professionals, nurses live with the inevitability of change. The extent to which change is experienced as a crisis rather than as an opportunity is determined by the degree of control that nurses have over the change process. This paper outlines the determinants of change, examines the impact of change on nursing practice, explores professional ways of knowing and proposes critical thinking as a means by which nurses can interpret and manipulate change and illustrates a curriculum approach that facilitates the acquisition of the capacity to think critically.