Biography
Biography: Ms. Salima
Abstract
In the nursing profession critical thinking (CT) has increasingly been the focus of investigation for the past several years. CT dispositions and skills are valuable in nursing practice. Nurses need complex thinking skills to effectively manage the fast-paced and constantly changing health care environments in which they work. CT is also vital in developing evidence-based nursing practice. Currently, no published studies could be located that specifically examined CT dispositions and research utilization of undergraduate nursing students. In this presentation we report on early findings about research utilization behaviors and critical thinking dispositions of a sample of undergraduate nursing students enrolled in the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BScN) program at a major university located in Western Canada (n=181). Descriptive statistics and correlations were compiled for the research utilization and critical thinking dispositions measures. The majority of participants (69%) scored below the target score of 280 on the California Critical Thinking Dispositions Inventory. This indicates an overall deficiency in critical thinking depositions. However, participants scored high on overall research utilization (mean=3.4/5) on research utilization survey questionnaire. At this point in our analysis we are reflecting on factors that may have impacted the lower CT disposition scores and the role that nursing educators in assisting students to develop their critical thinking skills.