Constructing critical thinking in health professional education.

Area of Science:

• Health Professions Education
• Educational Psychology

Background:

• Critical thinking is a widely called-for competency in health professional education.
• There is a lack of consensus on a universal definition of critical thinking within the literature and practice.
• Previous efforts to establish a single definition have yielded limited success, suggesting potential value in diverse interpretations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To map the various conceptions of critical thinking currently used in health professional education.
• To understand the relationships and tensions among these different understandings of critical thinking.

Main Methods:

• An inductive, qualitative research approach was employed.
• Educators from four health professions (medicine, nursing, pharmacy, social work) participated.
• Semi-structured interviews were conducted, including a reflective component using visual data from initial interviews.

Main Results:

• Three primary conceptions of critical thinking were identified: biomedical, humanist, and social justice-oriented.
• 'Biomedical critical thinking' emerged as the most prevalent conception.
• Individual participants' espoused conceptions of critical thinking were not consistently stable across interviews.

Conclusions:

• The multiplicity of critical thinking conceptions allows educators to articulate diverse views on 'good thinking' in varied contexts.
• A single, universal definition of critical thinking in health professions is likely contentious and may not be desirable.
• Making these diverse perspectives visible to educators and trainees can foster productive dialogue and enhance critical thinking development.