The importance of critical thinking in nursing

The importance of critical thinking in nursing

NURS 491 - Nursing Management (D)

Liberty University

Name

2022

The importance of critical thinking in nursing

Rapidly changing trends and different areas of health care require professional nurses to

develop critical thinking (Yuan, Williams, & Fan 2008). Caring for patients with various diseases is one of

the complex processes, and critical thinking is one of the solutions to such complex processes, so there

importance in education and professional practice. A number of international organizations have taken a

position to place greater emphasis on critical thinking. Critical thinking is one of the main elements in

nursing practice. The use of critical thinking in clinical practice contributes to the development of

competencies and professional activities of nurses. However, critical thinking improves the quality of

patient care by nurses. The scoping review by Zuriguel Pérez, Lluch Canut, Falcó Pequeroles, Puig Llobet,

Moreno Arroyo, and Roldán Merino (2014) noted that there was insufficient research in the field of

critical thinking in nursing practice. Critical thinking is a basic skill, but it is difficult to acquire or measure

in nursing practice even though critical thinking skills are an important part of nursing. Correct decision‐

making in the patient's situation, organization of care, and the positive results of patient care largely

depend on the critical thinking of the nurse. In many countries, employers require medical graduates to

independent decision making, and have a sense of responsibility. One of the main tasks of colleges at ‐

the present stage is to obtain not only knowledge and skills but also the disclosure of the abilities of

each student, who will always be ready for life in a high tech, competitive world (Miftakhov & ‐

Gilyazetdinov 2018.) In Kazakhstan, there are transformations and reforms in all spheres, including in

nursing. The goal of the nursing reform is to raise the level of nurses to the international level. For this

purpose, changes in the educational process of nurses in higher medical colleges are implemented to

train highly competitive, competent nurses in Kazakhstan.

To do this, nursing students need to be taught professional thinking, flexibility of thinking,

awareness, patience, tolerance, deep analysis of the information received, and the selection of true and

false. (Comprehensive plan for the development of nursing in the Republic of Kazakhstan until 2020,

undergraduate level and in traditional education, and to give recommendations to teachers of medical

Nurses work in a complex, intensively changing situation. The healthcare system is described by

continuous technological growth, changes, and new knowledge and treatment techniques emerging

Critical thinking is “the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing,

applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information".

Some scientists have suggested that critical thinking is "the art of thinking about your thinking

while you are thinking in order to make your thinking better: clearer, more accurate and more

defensible". The authors of different articles (Scriven, & Paul 2016, Paul, & Elder 2013) have given many

definitions of critical thinking. But, in general, their meanings are almost the same: critical thinking is

one of the types of intellectual activities of a person, which is characterized by a high level of perception,

understanding, and objectivity of approach to his environment. It is important to use and develop

critical thinking skills since such skills increase the likelihood of obtaining the desired result. It turns out

with reaching proficiency in critical thinking and academic writing skills. Therefore, most educators

around the world pay more attention to the problems of critical thinking in higher education and the

ability to effectively apply critical thinking in the performance of work.

thinking as a central outcome for graduates. Despite the key place of critical thinking in patient care

training programs, there is no specific way to see if this result is actually achieved. Critical thinking is

needed not only in clinical practice but also in the training of nurses at different levels of education. It

helps nurses in the future to develop their ability to think critically. So today, different ways and

methods are considered to develop critical thinking in learning. The most important task for researchers

is to develop tools to assess critical thinking in the field of nursing. All students who move on to the final

year will need to develop critical thinking to provide quality care in a challenging healthcare

environment. While developing critical thinking skills, students also learn the ability to think logically.

Learning critical thinking skills may seem like a time consuming process at first, but once learned, it can ‐

be quickly applied to one’s profession. Thus, students develop their ability to be flexible in difficult

situations.

decisions. Critical thinking is a crucial skill in the diagnosis process on the part of nurses. It certainly

influences the nurses’ further actions, such as analysis, evaluation, and conclusion. This means that

skills. Clinical practice has a positive effect on critical thinking.

critical thinking among students, teachers can create their own method or add various teaching

methods for critical thinking to their traditional lecture courses. However, there are some barriers, such

as lack of time to prepare 8 the course and not knowing how to switch from a traditional lecture format

to an interactive environment (Heath & Weege, 2017). It is very important to develop strategies and

methods to improve the critical thinking of nursing students as well as to increase the competence of

nursing teachers.

Teaching critical thinking to nursing students is important, and learning these skills should begin

as early as possible. After all, these cognitive skills contribute to improving the health of patients (Chan

2013). Critical thinking is a process that uses different approaches to solve identified problems and

consisting of elements of cognition and behavior. To achieve this level of thinking requires knowledge,

time, and experience. However, since each student is unique in their critical thinking, nursing educators

should treat students as individuals and use individual assessment methods to assess the level of critical

thinking. In addition, a variety of assessment methods increases the validity and accuracy of the

assessment. These assessment methods should also be incorporated into nursing courses (Paul 2014.)

References

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