Critical thinking and nursing education: perplexities and insights

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Higher Education
• Medical Education

Background:

• Exploratory study indicated nursing students showed no significant critical thinking gains over an academic year.
• This literature review was prompted by the need to understand these findings.
• Existing nursing literature lacks comprehensive analysis on critical thinking development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine if nursing education impacts critical thinking.
• To investigate the effect of nursing education on clinical judgment.
• To explore the relationship between critical thinking, clinical judgment, and academic achievement in nursing.

Main Methods:

• Systematic literature review of nursing education studies.
• Analysis of research on critical thinking and clinical judgment.
• Cross-disciplinary review incorporating educational psychology literature.

Main Results:

• Findings on the impact of nursing education on critical thinking and clinical judgment are mixed.
• A positive correlation exists between critical thinking and academic achievement in nursing.
• Educational literature offers insights into pedagogical strategies for fostering critical thinking.

Conclusions:

• Nursing education's impact on critical thinking and clinical judgment requires further investigation.
• Integrating educational theories may enhance critical thinking development in nursing programs.
• Recommendations for future research and teaching methodologies are proposed.