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Published on: June 21, 2010
Impact of a Dedicated Education Unit Experience on Critical Thinking Development in Nursing Students
Nancy Phoenix Bittner1, Elizabeth Campbell, Thomas Gunning
1Author Affiliations: Vice President for Education and Professor of Nursing (Dr Bittner) and Coordinator of Continuing Studies (Ms Campbell), Nursing and Radiography Programs, Lawrence Memorial Regis College, Medford; and Professional Development Director (Mr Gunning), Tufts Medical Center, Tufts Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts.
Aim:
The purpose of this study was to identify the impact of the dedicated education unit (DEU) on nursing students' critical thinking ability.
Background:
The DEU is an innovative approach to clinical education, which uses clinical nurses with expert practice consistently in a competency-based experience.
Method:
Participants (intervention and control groups) completed the Nursing Executive Center's Critical Thinking Diagnostic Assessment tool before and after clinical experience.
Results:
Participants included 243 students with 179 non-DEU and 64 DEU students. There were significant increases in total pretest and posttest score means (P < .05) for the DEU (intervention) group. A significant change (P < .0001) was seen in critical thinking scores by category for both groups and in the intervention group on pretest and posttest scores, even after controlling for pretest scores (P < .0001).
Conclusions:
Results support the efficacy of the DEU model in developing critical thinking. Prior DEU studies have focused on implementation and satisfaction with the model.
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