Critical thinking and clinical competence: A study of their relationship in BSN seniors

Citation
Ba. May et al., Critical thinking and clinical competence: A study of their relationship in BSN seniors, J NURS EDUC, 38(3), 1999, pp. 100-110
Citations number
33
Categorie Soggetti
Public Health & Health Care Science
Journal title
JOURNAL OF NURSING EDUCATION
ISSN journal
01484834 → ACNP
Volume
38
Issue
3
Year of publication
1999
Pages
100 - 110
Database
ISI
SICI code
0148-4834(199903)38:3<100:CTACCA>2.0.ZU;2-G
Abstract
National nursing organizations and nurses in the workplace identify critica l thinking skills as essential to competent nursing practice. This study se ts out to test the relationship between critical thinking skills and clinic al competence because it seems that competent practice depends on critical thinking abilities. This study focuses on one school of nursing's response to the challenge of defining and measuring critical thinking and clinical c ompetence and examining their relationship. An exploratory nonexperimental design was used with a heterogeneous sample consisting of two graduating nu rsing classes (N = 143). While the group of participants was able to think critically and practice competently according to set standards, there were no statistically significant correlations between critical thinking and cli nical competence total scores. One conclusion for these findings is that cr itical thinking may not emerge as an associated factor with clinical compet ence until some time after nursing students become practicing nurses.