Nursing Education

 In my opinion, critical thinking is one of the most important skills that nurses should have. I believe it is a crucial component of nursing education that must be part of any nursing curriculum. In my opinion, ritical thinking is the ability to anticipate what may happen and what nursing interventions are required, based on the implementation of prior theoretical and clinical knowledge and practice. From my experience as a nursing instructor, it is not an easy skill to teach. Not only it requires time and practice, but also strong nursing knowledge. For example, when I teach simulation in obstetrics, at the beginning of the term, students have no or very minimal knowledge related to maternal-newborn nursing. When I ask questions that require complex solutions, students struggle and it is often ineffective. However, as the term continues and students cover more theoretical information in class and see real cases in clinicals, they are able to make the connection between theory, clinicals, and simulation and answer complex questions by using critical thinking. This is one of the things I just love to see throughout the term. I find it very effective to ask simple questions first and then lead with more complex questions and scenarios. This allows students to remember the material, implement it, and even anticipate what may happen to a specific patient and what interventions may be needed, based on a scenario. I measure and assess the student’s critical thinking by evaluating their answers and their hands-on interventions during their simulations in obstetrics. I also use the Creighton tool as part of my evaluation of their simulation. One of the things on that tool is the student’s ability to prioritize. Prioritization of intervention comes from critical thinking. After the simulation, we do a debriefing and go through the scenario. This also allows students to verbalize and demonstrate their critical thinking process. By having the debriefing, students also learn how to develop their critical thinking.