Critical Thinking

Critical Thinking

Introduction

The promotion of critical thinking skills necessary for safe, effective, state-of-the-art nursing care is discussed in this article. Definitions of critical thinking and inductive and deductive reasoning are explored. Benner's (2009) research, based on Dreyfus and Dreyfus' (2008) model of skill acquisition, provides a basis for the various strategies mentioned to teach critical thinking. Implementation and evaluation of these strategies are addressed.

One of the many challenges a staff development educator faces is to enhance critical thinking skills of all staff, regardless of their level of expertise. Another challenge is to select appropriate strategies to teach these skills. Effective critical thinking skills are vital in order to provide competent, safe care of clients and families, manage shorter hospital stays, use increasingly sophisticated technologies, and implement changing and challenging care philosophies (Snyder, 2008).

In the various nursing specialties, all of the above considerations pose an increasing demand for the nurse professional to employ effective critical thinking strategies. Shorter, hospital stays relate to increased technology, health care improvements, and financial constraints. As a result, the professional nurse must employ critical thinking skills in order to determine when and how effective teaching strategies should begin. Advanced technology and high patient acuity force the professional to become more aware of the use of complex equipment, assessment of the resultant diagnostics, and the more ill client system. Changed philosophies and /or the reemergence of familycentered care impose greater challenges to expand previous knowledge and expertise.

The purpose of this article is to define critical thinking and types of reasoning necessary for critical thinking. Exploration of the attributes of critical thinkers and the utilization of Benner's (2009) research based on the Dreyfus and Dreyfus (2008) model for skill acquisition are included. A discussion of effective teaching strategies with implementation and evaluation of these skills to assist in the attainment and enhancement of critical thinking skills among nursing staff follows.

Discussion

Many authorities in higher education did not enthusiastically embrace the idea that college students should receive explicit instruction in how to think. Not that the academic community was opposed to good thinking, but many educators believed that it was a misguided effort. For example, Glaser (1984) cited abundant evidence of critical thinking failures in support of his argument that thinking skills are context-bound and do not transfer across academic domains. Glaser and other skeptics were partly correct. Better thinking is not a necessary outcome of traditional, discipline-based instruction. However, when thinking skills are explicitly taught for transfer, using multiple examples from several disciplines, students can learn to improve how they think in ways that transfer across academic domains. Rubinstein's highly successful course in problem solving (Rubinstein and Firstenberg, 2009), Lochhead and Whimby's analytical reasoning procedures (2009), and Woods's use of deliberate planning and monitoring (2009), all of which were described in Stice's volume, provided models of successful instruction in critical thinking that eventually swayed even the staunchest critics. Many colleges and universities in North America now offer courses specifically designed to enhance their students' abilities to think critically, as part ...