Congruency in defining critical thinking by nurse educators and non-nurse scholars

This study investigated nurse educators' definition of the concept critical thinking. A sample of 201 baccalaureate nurse educators in midwest nursing programs completed a questionnaire identifying their perception of critica l-thinking skills and characteristics, and their agreement with non-nurse c ritical-thinking experts on items often considered to be critical thinking. This study found that nurse educators agreed with non-nurse critical-think ing experts on the skills and dispositions; however, significant difference s were found between nurse educators and non-nurse experts regarding concep ts related to critical thinking. Nurse educators were more likely to identi fy researching, problem-solving, decision-making, and planning as critical thinking. Despite their assertion otherwise, it is apparent from this study that nurse educators have a different perception of critical thinking than scholars in other disciplines. This study suggests that practice disciplin es such as nursing may perceive critical thinking differently than educator s in nonpractice disciplines.