Azizi-Fini Ismail, Hajibagheri Ali, Adib-Hajbaghery Mohsen
School of Nursing and Midwifery, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, IR Iran.
Department of Medical Surgical Nursing, Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, IR Iran.
Nurs Midwifery Stud. 2015 Mar;4(1):e25721. doi: 10.17795/nmsjournal25721. Epub 2015 Mar 10.
Critical thinking is one of the most important concepts in the field of education. Despite studies published on nursing students' critical thinking skills (CTS), some suggest that there is not enough evidence supporting the relationship between content of nursing education programs and nursing students' CTS.
Given the existing discrepancies, this study aimed to compare the critical thinking skills of freshmen and senior nursing students.
This comparative study was conducted on 150 undergraduate freshmen and senior nursing students in Kashan University of Medical Sciences, during 2012. The students in the first and the last semesters of their study in nursing were entered in the study using the census method. Data were collected using a questionnaire including questions on demographic data and the California Critical Thinking Skills Test, form B. Data analysis was performed using the SPSS v.13 software. Descriptive statistics were calculated. Moreover, independent sample t-test and Spearman and Pearson's correlation coefficients were used in the data analysis.
Both the freshmen and senior nursing students had low CTS. The mean critical thinking scores were 11.79 ± 4.80 and 11.21 ± 3.17 for the freshmen and the senior students, respectively (P = 0.511). Moreover, no significant correlation was found between the students' score in CTS and their age, gender, high school grade point average (GPA), rank in university entrance examination (RUEE) and interest in the nursing profession.
The students were low skilled in critical thinking and their CTS did not significantly change during their nursing degree. Thus it may be concluded that the nursing education program did not affect the CTS of its students. Longitudinal studies are suggested for assessing nursing students' critical thinking over time. Moreover, revising the curriculum and preparing nursing educators for implementing innovative and active teaching strategies are suggested.
批判性思维是教育领域最重要的概念之一。尽管已有关于护生批判性思维技能（CTS）的研究发表，但一些研究表明，尚无足够证据支持护理教育项目内容与护生CTS之间的关系。
鉴于现有差异，本研究旨在比较护理专业大一和大四学生的批判性思维技能。
本比较研究于2012年对库姆医科大学的150名护理专业本科大一和大四学生进行。采用普查法选取处于护理学习第一学期和最后一学期的学生参与研究。使用一份包含人口统计学数据问题及加利福尼亚批判性思维技能测试B版的问卷收集数据。使用SPSS v.13软件进行数据分析。计算描述性统计量。此外，数据分析中还使用了独立样本t检验以及Spearman和Pearson相关系数。
护理专业大一和大四学生的CTS均较低。大一和大四学生的批判性思维平均得分分别为11.79±4.80和11.21±3.17（P = 0.511）。此外，学生的CTS得分与他们的年龄、性别、高中平均绩点（GPA）、大学入学考试排名（RUEE）以及对护理专业的兴趣之间未发现显著相关性。
学生的批判性思维技能较低，且在护理学位学习期间他们的CTS没有显著变化。因此可以得出结论，护理教育项目并未影响其学生的CTS。建议进行纵向研究以长期评估护生的批判性思维。此外，建议修订课程并让护理教育工作者准备实施创新和积极的教学策略。
