Relationship of critical thinking ability to professional nursing competence

The relationship of critical thinking ability to professional nursing competence was investigated. Professional nursing competence, defined by Benner (1984) as stages of skill acquisition (novice, advanced beginner, competent, proficient, and expert), provided the conceptual framework. A randomly selected, cross-sectional sample of nursing graduates (N = 121) was utilized. Two cohorts (N = 30) of the sample group were measured longitudinally for critical thinking ability. Relationships were investigated between measures of critical thinking and professional competencies of leadership, critical care, teaching/collaboration, planning/evaluation, interpersonal communication and professional development. Critical thinking was measured over time from beginning nursing student to practicing nurse. Critical thinking ability did not change significantly during the educational experience (sophomore to senior), however, a significant increase was found in scores as practicing nurses. No relationship was demonstrated between critical thinking ability and professional competence. The experiential component of practice emerged as the key influencing factor on the development of competence and critical thinking.