Grounded theory in medical laboratory science expert practice development

Area of Science:

• Medical laboratory science
• Nursing
• Educational psychology

Background:

• Expert practice development in medical laboratory science (MLS) requires understanding critical thinking (CT).
• Existing research on expert practice domains in nursing provides a comparative framework.
• Grounded theory and national survey data inform the study of CT in MLS.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify and define critical thinking (CT) behaviors crucial for expert practice in medical laboratory science (MLS).
• To develop a grounded theory of CT as a metaprocess underpinning learning in MLS.
• To compare CT behaviors in MLS with established expert practice domains in nursing.

Main Methods:

• Grounded theory approach combined with a national survey of MLS practitioners.
• Focus group and expert review process to identify CT behaviors.
• Factor analysis to determine underlying constructs of CT behaviors and comparison with nursing domains.

Main Results:

• Twenty-five critical thinking (CT) behaviors were identified as important in expert MLS practice.
• Factor analysis reduced these behaviors to a 7-factor structure.
• Significant commonality was found between MLS and nursing CT behaviors across seven expert practice domains.

Conclusions:

• Critical thinking (CT) acts as a metaprocess facilitating various learning orientations.
• Observable CT behaviors increase with advancing practice from novice to expert.
• Defined CT behaviors can guide curriculum design and evaluation in MLS education.