Critical Thinking and the Standards of Nursing Education

Ahn, Yang Heui

Abstract

Critical thinking is the basis of professional nursing practice and is essential in the current complex health care delivery system. A major goal of baccalaureate nursing education is the development and promotion of students' ability to think critically. In America, the National League for nursing outcome-oriented accreditation process challenged nursing faculty to think about teaching and evaluating critical thinking. Based on nursing literature, the findings were inconsistent because of a lack of consensus on a definition of critical thinking and the measurement of critical thinking utilizing critical thinking instruments non-specific for nursing. However, a variety of teaching-learning strategies in nursing education were effective in the development of critical thinking dispositions and skills among nursing students. The author provides insight and ideas for nursing faculty as follows: 1) nursing programs must define critical thinking operationally in relation to their curricula; 2)nursing faculty must be knowledgeable concerning evaluation of critical thinking disposition and skills and construct a standardized critical-thinking instrument that is specific to the discipline of nursing; 3) nursing faculty must develop teaching-learning strategy in nursing education for improving students' critical thinking abilities. These are prerequisite for critical thinking which should be considered as a criterion in The Standards of Nursing Education in Korea.