2. When was the patient’s last bowel movement?
3. Who is the patient’s emergency contact person?
4. Describe the patient’s current level of pain.
5. What information is in the patient’s medical record?
Critical thinking in nursing is the foundation that underpins safe, effective, and patient-centered care.
Critical thinking skills empower nurses to navigate the complexities of their profession while consistently providing high-quality care to diverse patient populations.
Potter, P.A., Perry, A.G., Stockert, P. and Hall, A. (2013) Fundamentals of Nursing
Comments are closed.
All the contents on this site are for entertainment, informational, educational, and example purposes ONLY. These contents are not intended to be used as a substitute for professional medical advice or practice guidelines. However, we aim to publish precise and current information. By using any content on this website, you agree never to hold us legally liable for damages, harm, loss, or misinformation. Read the privacy policy and terms and conditions.
Privacy Policy
Terms & Conditions
© 2024 nurseship.com. All rights reserved.
An official website of the United States government
The .gov means it’s official. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.
The site is secure. The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.
Preview improvements coming to the PMC website in October 2024. Learn More or Try it out now .
Tuan van nguyen.
1 Faculty of Nursing and Medical Technology, Can Tho University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Can Tho Vietnam
2 School of Nursing, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan Taiwan
3 Department of Rheumatology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Linkou Taiwan
4 Department of Nursing, College of Nursing, Chang Gung University of Science and Technology, Taoyuan, Taiwan
The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
To measure the level of critical thinking among Vietnamese professional nurses and to identify the related factors.
A cross‐sectional design was used.
The total sample included 420 professional nurses. Data were collected from July to September 2019 in three public hospitals located in Southwestern Vietnam. The level of critical thinking was measured using the Vietnamese version of the Nursing Critical Thinking in Clinical Practice Questionnaire. The data were analysed using the independent Student's t tests, ANOVA, Pearson's correlation and regression analysis.
Most of the participants had a low (48.3%) or moderate (45.5%) level of critical thinking. Age, gender, ethnicity, education level, health condition, duration of working as a nurse, duration of working in the current hospital, having heard the term “critical thinking” and work position had an impact on the critical thinking ability. Work position and gender explained 11% of the total variance in critical thinking ability.
Critical thinking is defined as the cognitive process of reasoning that involves trying to minimize errors and to maximize positive outcomes while attempting to make a decision during patient care (Zuriguel‐Pérez et al., 2015 ). The importance of critical thinking in nursing practice has been identified in the literature (Chang et al., 2011 ; Ludin, 2018 ; Mahmoud & Mohamed, 2017 ; Yurdanur, 2016 ; Zuriguel‐Pérez et al., 2015 ). The current nursing environment has become more complex and demanding, especially regarding the acuity and safety of patients and the rapid turnover rate of hospitalization. If professional nurses want to provide high‐quality care, critical thinking is required (Berkow et al., 2011 ; Brunt, 2005 ; Fero et al., 2009 ; Zuriguel‐Pérez et al., 2015 ). Nurses are often the first‐line professionals to observe and provide direct care for patients. Therefore, critical thinking is a necessary skill for them to be able to analyse clinical situations in order to make fast and correct decisions (Lee et al., 2017 ). More importantly, critical thinking can also improve patient outcomes by preventing habitual thinking that may lead to incorrect medication or procedures (Fesler‐Birch, 2005 ). The critical thinking ability of nurses can have an impact on the patient's safety, and it is a priority in educational programs for healthcare providers (Berkow et al., 2011 ; Buerhaus et al., 2006 ). We can identify those with poor critical thinking and provide in‐service education. Although critical thinking has been shown that is influenced by the experience and knowledge acquired during clinical practice (Zuriguel‐Pérez et al., 2015 ), other personal information needs to be considered to clarifying. Therefore, it is essential to measure the levels of critical thinking and to identify the work‐related and personal‐related factors that influence the critical thinking of nurses.
The literature has identified that there is a relationship between leadership and positive patient outcomes, such as fewer medication errors and nosocomial infections, lower patient mortality and higher patient satisfaction (Van Dyk et al., 2016 ; Wong, 2015 ). Alongside leadership, critical thinking is an important factor that supports the management. They can apply critical thinking skills in decision‐making and problem‐solving, and they can develop strategies that help staff nurses to improve their critical thinking ability (Van Dyk et al., 2016 ; Wong, 2015 ; Zuriguel‐Pérez et al., 2018 ). Thus, the ability to think critically is necessary for nurses because it will help them to effectively make decisions and to solve problems in practice.
Although the importance of critical thinking in nursing practice has been identified, a limited number of studies have been conducted in this population. Particularly, few hospitals have evaluated the critical thinking skills of nurses before employment or during the clinical competency evaluation (Lang et al., 2013 ). By reviewing 90 articles to assess the current state of the scientific knowledge regarding critical thinking in nursing, Zuriguel‐Pérez et al., ( 2015 ) found that only 16 studies used working nurses as participants. Furthermore, Zuriguel‐Pérez et al., ( 2018 ) reported that few studies have explored the critical thinking ability of nurse managers (NMs). Moreover, several studies have identified that working nurses have a low (Lang et al., 2013 ; Yurdanur, 2016 ) or moderate level of critical thinking (Chang et al., 2011 ; Lang et al., 2013 ; Zuriguel‐Pérez et al., 2018 ). To the researchers’ knowledge, no studies have investigated this issue in Vietnam.
In order to improve the quality and safety of patient care, various types of professional nurses have been established, such as Registered Nurses (RNs), NMs and administrative assistants (AAs). RNs provide direct care to the patients, NMs are responsible for forwarding management and delivering expert clinical care for patients, and AAs are an integral part of maintaining the quality of patient care. The AAs perform administrative tasks (e.g. filing, taking meeting minutes and distributing them and undertaking regular reports) that help NMs to spend more time assisting staff nurses and taking care of patients (Locke et al., 2011 ). Therefore, RNs, NMs and AAs need to cooperate to help patients to regain their health.
In Vietnam, professional nurses work in three different positions, which are NMs, general nurses (GNs) and AAs (Ministry of Health, 1997 ). Specifically, NMs are recognized as head nurses in Western countries, and their responsibilities are in charge of organizing and implementing comprehensive patient care and conduct a variety of administrative work (e.g. planning and assigning work to nurses, planning the acquisition of tools and consumables, checking care sheets, recording daily labour). GNs are similar to RNs in Western countries, and they provide direct and comprehensive care to patients. AAs perform administrative tasks (e.g. keeping records about the hospitalized and discharged patients, preserving medical records, managing daily medications). They also participate in patients care if necessary (Ministry of Health, 1997 , 2011 ). Although the roles of these three types of professional nurses are different, their final goal is the same to provide holistic care for patients. With the cooperation and effort of these three types of professional nurses, patients can recover. Therefore, more surveys are needed that examine these participants’ level of critical thinking and the associated work‐related factors.
Previous studies have also found that several personal‐related factors are associated with the nurses' critical thinking ability, which are age, gender, ethnicity, education qualification, working experience and shift work (Chang et al., 2011 ; Feng et al., 2010 ; Howenstein et al., 1996 ; Lang et al., 2013 ; Ludin, 2018 ; Mahmoud & Mohamed, 2017 ; Ryan & Tatum, 2012 ; Wangensteen et al., 2010 ; Yildirim et al., 2012 ; Yurdanur, 2016 ; Zuriguel‐Pérez et al., 2018 ). However, the relationships between the critical thinking ability and these variables are inconsistent. For example, age and critical thinking have been found to be positively correlated (Chang et al., 2011 ; Ludin, 2018 ; Zuriguel‐Pérez et al., 2018 ), negatively correlated (Howenstein et al., 1996 ) and not related (Lang et al., 2013 ; Mahmoud & Mohamed, 2017 ; Yurdanur, 2016 ). Gender and critical thinking have been reported with a statistically significant relationship (Liu et al., 2019 ; Ludin, 2018 ) and no relationship (Mahmoud & Mohamed, 2017 ; Wangensteen et al., 2010 ). Level of education and critical thinking have been found in a positive association (Chang et al., 2011 ; Ludin, 2018 ) and not association (Lang et al., 2013 ; Mahmoud & Mohamed, 2017 ). Year of experiences and critical thinking have been shown to be positively correlated (Chang et al., 2011 ; Ludin, 2018 ), negatively correlated (Howenstein et al., 1996 ) and not related (Lang et al., 2013 ; Mahmoud & Mohamed, 2017 ). Those inconsistent findings indicated the relationships between the personal‐characteristics and the critical thinking ability of professional nurses need further exploration. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the level of critical thinking of professional nurses and to explore the work‐related and personal‐related factors. This is the first study to investigate this issue in Vietnam. The results of the current study will make a significant contribution to the literature because it will provide thorough descriptions of the critical thinking of professional nurses and its associated factors. Furthermore, the findings may be used as a baseline for nurse managers and nurse educators to propose further strategies to improve this ability in professional nurses.
A cross‐sectional design was used. The Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology guidelines were applied in this report (Von Elm et al., 2014 ).
Data collection was carried out from July to September 2019 in three representative and major public hospitals located in the Southwestern region of Vietnam. These hospitals have the same organizational structure, role of treating, operation of professional nursing and provide similar quality of health care to people around that area. The total numbers of professional in these three hospitals nurses were around 1,200. Besides, our study has two steps. The first step was to translate the English version of the Nursing Critical Thinking in Clinical Practice Questionnaire (N‐CT‐4 Practice) into the Vietnamese version. In that step, we used data as a pilot study to estimate the sample size in the second step, which was reported here. Sample size calculation was done by the formula: n = 1.96 2 × p × (1‐p)/0.05 2 , where p = .46 came from the poor level of critical thinking among nurses in the first step and 0.05 indicated the acceptable margin of error (5.0%); 382 participants were required by this formula. An additional 10% of participants were done to adjust for potential failures such as withdrawals or missing data (Suresh & Chandrashekara, 2012 ). Therefore, in total, 420 participants were required for this study. Convenience sampling was conducted to recruit the sample. The inclusion criteria were the nurses' employed full‐time employment in the study hospitals. Participants who participated in step 1 or being absent during the data collection such as sick leave or delivering a baby were excluded. Participants were grouped in each hospital and received an envelope with all questionnaires. Then, researchers explained the research's purpose, benefits and risks to the potential participants and the procedure for ensuring confidentiality, and the voluntary nature of the participation. The informed consent form was signed immediately after they agreed to participate in this study. Then, the participants were required to complete the questionnaires in 20 to 30 min and to return them to the data collector.
3.3.1. sample characteristics.
This instrument collected data about the personal information and occupational variables. The personal information included age, gender, marital status, ethnicity, religion, education level and self‐rated health conditions. The occupational variables were the duration of working as a nurse, the duration of working in the current hospital, the duration of working in the specific position, having heard the term “critical thinking” or not, previous exposure to critical thinking training or education or not, and type of work position.
The N‐CT‐4 Practice (V‐v) was used to measure the critical thinking ability of the professional nurses. The original instrument (N‐CT‐4 Practice) was established and classified based on the four dimensions of the 4‐circle critical thinking model of Alfaro‐LeFevre (Zuriguel‐Pérez et al., 2017 ). These four dimensions were personal; intellectual and cognitive; interpersonal and self‐management; and technical dimensions. The personal dimension has 39 items to assess the individual pattern of intellectual behaviours; the intellectual and cognitive dimension has 44 items to assesses the knowledge of activity comprehension connected to the nursing process and decision‐making. For the interpersonal and self‐management dimension, it has 20 items to analyse interpersonal abilities that allow for therapeutic communication with patients and health teams and to gain information that is associated with the patient in the clinical environment. The final one, the technical dimension, has 6 items to is concerned with knowledge and expertise in the procedures that are part of the discipline of nursing. This scale has 109 items that are rated using a four‐point Likert response format (1 = never or almost never, 2 = occasionally, 3 = often, and 4 = always or almost always), for example: “I recognize my own emotions.” (item 1); “I have the scientific knowledge required to carry out my professional practice.” (item 40); “I adapt information to the needs and capacities of the patient.” (item 84); “I possess skills in the use of information and communication technologies needed to produce optimal professional results.” (item 105). The total score is obtained from the sum of the 109 items. The scores range from 109–436, and they are categorized into a low level (score <329), moderate level (score between 329–395) and high level (score >395). The overall Cronbach's alpha was 0.96, and the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was 0.77 (Zuriguel‐Pérez et al., 2017).
The N‐CT‐4 Practice (V‐v) was translated, and its psychometric properties were tested with 545 Vietnamese nurses. The results showed that the N‐CT‐4 Practice (V‐v) has acceptable reliability (Cronbach's alpha) and validity (content and construct validity). Particularly, the overall Cronbach's alpha was 0.98, with that of the four dimensions ranging from 0.86–0.97. The ICC was 0.81 over two weeks. The item content validity index was 1.0. Moreover, the goodness‐of‐fit indexes in a confirmatory factor analysis showed acceptable values, which were χ 2 / df = 2.87, root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) = 0.059, standardized root mean square residual (SRMR) = 0.063, comparative fit index (CFI) = 0.73 and Tucker Lewis index (TLI) = 0.72 (T. V. Nguyen & Liu, 2021 ). Therefore, the N‐CT‐4 Practice (V‐v) can be used to measure the critical thinking ability of Vietnamese professional nurses.
This study conformed with the ethical principles of the Declaration of Helsinki (Helsinki Declaration, 2013 ), and it was granted research ethics committee approval by the ethical review board of the first author's institution.
The data were analysed using SPSS for Windows version 23.0 (IBM Corp.), and both descriptive and inferential statistics were calculated. The level of significance for all analyses was set at < 0.05. First, descriptive statistics were employed to summarize the collected data. The continuous variables were described using the mean and standard deviation ( SD ), and the frequency and percentage (%) were used for the categorical variables. Next, independent Student's t tests, analysis of variance (with Scheffe's post hoc comparison) and Pearson's correlation analysis were conducted to explore the association between the critical thinking ability and the personal and occupational factors. Then, a multiple regression analysis using the stepwise method was performed to identify the predictors of critical thinking ability (Pallant, 2010 ).
A total of 420 participants completed the questionnaires; the characteristics of overall participants and subjects in each group are listed in Table 1 . Three groups of subjects were included, which were NMs (24.8%), GNs (49.8%) and AAs (25.4%), respectively. Regarding the personal variables, almost all participants were Vietnamese (96.7%), no religion (73.1%) and had good health condition (60%). Meanwhile, the comparison among each group showed that age ( F = 9.89, p < .001), gender (χ 2 = 6.48, p < .05), marital status (χ 2 = 6.77, p < .05) and education level (χ 2 = 147.38, p < .001) had reached the statistical significance. Further analysis showed that the age of NMs was significantly older than subjects in both the GN and AA group, AA group had a higher ratio of that in the GN group, and the AA group had a higher ratio of married one than the GN group. For educational levels, subjects in the NM group had a higher ratio of bachelor and master degree, whereas the other two groups had a high ratio of diploma and associate degree.
Characteristics of the participants ( n = 420)
Variables | Totals | Comparisons among work position | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
NM ( = 104) | GN ( = 209) | AA ( = 107) | χ | (1) NM | (2) GN | (3) AA | ‐test | Scheffe's post hoc | |||
(%) | Mean ± | (%) | Mean ± | ||||||||
Personal variables | |||||||||||
Age (years) | 32.54 ± 7.32 | 35.22 ± 7.08 | 31.46 ± 7.0 | 32.05 ± 7.56 | 9.89 | (1) > (2), (3) | |||||
Gender | |||||||||||
Male | 105 (25) | 28 (26.9) | 60 (28.7) | 17 (15.9) | 6.48 | ||||||
Female | 315 (75) | 76 (73.1) | 149 (71.3) | 90 (84.1) | |||||||
Marital status | |||||||||||
Single/divorced/widowed | 169 (40.2) | 34 (32.7) | 97 (46.4) | 38 (35.5) | 6.77 | ||||||
Married | 251 (59.8) | 70 (67.3) | 112 (53.6) | 69 (64.5) | |||||||
Ethnicity | |||||||||||
Vietnamese | 406 (96.7) | 101 (97.1) | 205 (98.1) | 100 (93.5) | 4.79 | ||||||
Other | 14 (3.3) | 3 (2.9) | 4 (1.9) | 7 (6.5) | |||||||
Religion | |||||||||||
No | 307 (73.1) | 82 (78.8) | 149 (71.3) | 76 (71) | 2.33 | ||||||
Yes | 113 (26.9) | 22 (21.2) | 60 (28.7) | 31 (29) | |||||||
Education level | |||||||||||
Diploma | 126 (30.0) | 3 (2.9) | 90 (43.1) | 33 (30.8) | 147.38 | ||||||
Associate | 123 (29.3) | 8 (7.7) | 64 (30.6) | 51 (47.7) | |||||||
Bachelor's/graduate | 171 (40.7) | 93 (89.4) | 55 (26.3) | 23 (21.5) | |||||||
Self‐rated health condition | |||||||||||
Very good | 51 (12.1) | 9 (8.7) | 27 (12.9) | 15 (14) | 6.63 | ||||||
Good | 252 (60.0) | 71 (68.3) | 126 (60.3) | 55 (51.4) | |||||||
Fair/bad/very bad | 117 (27.9) | 24 (23.1) | 56 (26.8) | 37 (34.6) | |||||||
Work‐related factors | |||||||||||
Duration of working as a nurse (years) | 9.30 ± 7.05 | 12.30 ± 7.12 | 8.08 ± 6.42 | 8.75 ± 7.20 | 13.08 | (1) > (2), (3) | |||||
Duration of working in the current hospital (years) | 8.81 ± 6.85 | 11.66 ± 7.02 | 7.66 ± 6.33 | 8.29 ± 6.93 | 12.98 | (1) > (2), (3) | |||||
Duration of working in the specific position (years) | 6.10 ± 5.46 | 5.06 ± 4.94 | 7.41 ± 6.21 | 4.05 ± 3.27 | 14.79 | (2) > (1) > (3) | |||||
Heard the term "CT" | |||||||||||
No | 280 (66.7) | 56 (53.8) | 151 (72.2) | 73 (68.2) | 10.74 | ||||||
Yes | 140 (33.7) | 48 (46.2) | 58 (27.8) | 34 (31.8) | |||||||
Previous exposure to CT training/education | |||||||||||
No | 420 (100) | 104 (100) | 209 (100) | 107 (100) |
Abbreviations: AA, Administrator assistant; CT , Critical thinking; GN, General nurse; NM, Nurses manager ; SD , standard deviation.
Chi‐square and one‐way ANOVA test; significant at * p < .05; ** p < .01; *** p < .001.
Regarding work‐related factors, the characters of all participants and subjects in each group are also listed in Table 1 . The comparison of professional experience, such as duration of working as a nurse, duration of working in the current hospital, duration of working in this specific position and heard the terminology of "critical thinking" showed a significant statistical difference among the three groups ( p < .001). They showed that NMs had a longer duration of working as a nurse (mean = 12.30, SD = 7.12) and duration of working in the current hospital (mean = 11.6, SD = 7.02) than the other two groups; GNs had the longest duration of working in the specific position (mean = 7.41, SD = 6.21). More subjects in the NM group heard the terminology of "critical thinking" than subjects in the other two groups. However, none of the subjects had been exposed to critical thinking training or education. Furthermore, there was a positive correlation among age, the duration of working as a nurse, the duration of working in the current hospital and duration of working in a specific position ( r = .78–.975, p < .01).
The mean of the total scores of the N‐CT‐4 Practice (V‐v) for all participants was 333.86 ± 40.22 (with the average score/item = 3.06 ± 0.37), the median score was 331 (interquartile range [IQR] = 311–359), and it ranged from 204–436, which indicates that they generally had a moderate level of critical thinking. Meanwhile, most of the participants reported a low (48.3%) or moderate (45.5%) level of critical thinking. Only 6.2% of the participants had a high level of critical thinking. Regarding the four dimensions of the N‐CT‐4 Practice (V‐v), the average sum score was 119.52 ± 14.19 (with the average score/item = 3.06 ± 0.36) in the personal dimension, 136.38 ± 17.62 (with the average score/item = 3.10 ± 0.40) in the intellectual and cognitive dimension, 68.71 ± 12.65 (with the average score/item = 3.44 ± 0.63) in the interpersonal and self‐management dimension and 18.09 ± 3.01 (with the average score/item = 3.01 ± 0.50) in the technical dimension.
There were statistically significant associations between the critical thinking ability and some work‐related factors, such as work position ( F = 23.30, p < .001), duration of working as a nurse ( r = 0.15, p < .01), duration of working in the current hospital ( r = 0.13, p < .05) and having heard the term "critical thinking" ( t = −2.48, p < .05; Table 2 ). The findings indicated that NMs had higher scores than GNs and AAs. Moreover, nurses who had worked for a longer duration as a nurse or worked longer in the current hospital had a higher critical thinking ability. Meanwhile, those who had not heard the term "critical thinking" had lower scores than participants who had heard this term.
Association between the participants’ characteristics and the critical thinking ability ( n = 420)
Variables | Mean ± | a/b/ ‐value | ‐value | Scheffe's comparison |
---|---|---|---|---|
Personal factors | ||||
Age | 0.12 | . | ||
Gender | ||||
Male | 341.70 ± 37.29 | 2.32 | . | |
Female | 331.24 ± 40.88 | |||
Marital status | ||||
Single/divorced/widowed | 331.24 ± 40.49 | −1.09 | .275 | |
Married | 335.62 ± 40.03 | |||
Ethnicity | ||||
Vietnamese | 334.57 ± 39.57 | 1.97 | . | |
Other | 313.07 ± 53.73 | |||
Religion | ||||
No | 334.63 ± 39.39 | 0.65 | .516 | |
Yes | 331.75 ± 42.51 | |||
Education level | ||||
(1) Diploma | 327.84 ± 38.20 | 7.45 | . | 3 > 1, 2 |
(2) Associate | 327.50 ± 39.25 | |||
(3) Bachelor's/graduate | 342.86 ± 40.80 | |||
Self‐rated health condition | ||||
(1) Very good | 343.94 ± 37.25 | 3.41 | . | 1 > 3 |
(2) Good | 334.97 ± 39.47 | |||
(3) Fair/bad/very bad | 327.06 ± 42.19 | |||
Occupational factors | ||||
Duration of working as a nurse | 0.15 | . | ||
Duration of working in the current hospital | 0.13 | . | ||
Duration of working in the specific position | 0.07 | .184 | ||
Heard the term “critical thinking” | ||||
No | 330.44 ± 39.68 | −2.48 | . | |
Yes | 340.69 ± 40.56 | |||
Work position | ||||
(1) Nurse manager | 355.49 ± 38.53 | 23.30 | 1 > 2, 3 | |
(2) General nurse | 329.11 ± 32.79 | |||
(3) Administrative assistant | 322.11 ± 46.89 |
The bolded values indicate the level of statistical significance (with p < .05; p < .01; or p < .001) between the independent and dependent variables.
Abbreviations: SD , standard deviation.
There were statistically significant associations between the critical thinking ability and some personal‐related factors, such as age ( r = 0.12, p < .05), gender ( t = 2.32, p < .05), ethnicity ( t = 1.97, p < .05), education level ( F = 7.45, p < .01) and health condition ( F = 3.14, p < .05; Table 2 ). The findings indicated that the older nurses reported a higher critical thinking ability, and male nurses had a higher score than female ones. Vietnamese participants had higher scores than participants with other ethnicities. Participants with a bachelor's/graduate degree level of education had higher scores than participants with a diploma and associate degree level of education. Those with very good health had a higher score than participants who rated their health as fair/bad/very bad.
All of the statistically significant variables identified in the univariate analysis were selected as independent variables to determine the predictors of critical thinking ability. For the regression analysis, the categorical variables were first coded as dummy variables. The factors of having never heard of “critical thinking,” being an NM being male, being Vietnamese, having a diploma degree and being in very good health were selected as the standard factors. The results of the stepwise multiple regression method showed that there were only two predictors, namely the variables of work position and gender. Working as an AA or GN or being female can predict the critical thinking ability, and they accounted for 11% of the total variance ( F = 17.12, p < .001). This indicates that the AAs and GNs had a lower level of critical thinking than the NMs. Besides, when compared with male nurses, the female nurses exhibited a lower level of critical thinking (Table 3 ).
Predictors of the critical thinking ability ( n = 420)
Model | Beta | ‐value | square | ‐value | ‐value | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Constant | 362.11 | 0.11 | 17.12 | |||
Administrative assistant | −32.38 | −0.351 | ||||
General nurse | −26.55 | −0.330 | ||||
Female | −9.05 | −0.098 | . |
This study showed that the critical thinking ability of most professional nurses was at a low or moderate level. This finding is consistent with previous studies (Chang et al., 2011 ; Lang et al., 2013 ; Zuriguel‐Pérez et al., 2018 ). Using the same tool, Zuriguel‐Pérez et al. ( 2018 ) found that the median score of the N‐CT‐4 Practice was 363 (IQR = 340–386) for clinical nurses in Spain. Our study found a slightly lower median score (331; IQR = 311–359) but it was still in a moderate level (range of score: 329–395). Although critical thinking is a relatively new issue in Vietnamese professional nurses, it is not a brand new concept. Certain elements have been included in the nursing curriculum and clinical practice (e.g. the nursing process, problem‐based learning, evidence‐based practice). Therefore, up to 66.7% of participants had never heard the term "critical thinking," but 45.5% still reported a moderate level when measured using the N‐CT‐4 Practice (V‐v).
In Vietnam, clinical professional nurses are categorized into NMs, GNs and AAs with different job descriptions. Critical thinking ability has been identified as an important component for the high quality of care around the world, except in Vietnam. In order to identify this ability, we collected data from 3 hospitals in one region and grouped these data for analysis. Based on the comparison among NMs, GNs and AAs, it was found that NMs had a higher level of critical thinking than GNs and AAs. This can be explained by the fact that NMs have a higher age, work experience and high educational qualification than the other two groups. This result partially supports the finding that NMs report a slightly higher level of critical thinking than RNs (Zuriguel‐Pérez et al., 2018 ). Critical thinking is a necessary skill for effective and efficient management. Evidently, at present, NMs with a high level of critical thinking create positive practice environments that can help the staff nurses to deliver high quality and safe patient care (Zori et al., 2010 ). Therefore, all healthcare personnel needs to learn and apply critical thinking in order to conduct their work effectively and efficiently.
For clinical nurses, continuous in‐service education is very important to update their knowledge and skill of care. Literature found various factors associated with curriculum design and learning of critical thinking ability. Therefore, grouping subjects in the present study together in order to identify the related factors could help the development of further in‐service education of critical thinking ability effectively and efficiently. In this study, a statistically significant positive correlation was found between the critical thinking ability and age, the duration of working as a nurse and the duration of working in the current hospital. These findings are consistent with previous studies. For example, older nurses have a higher level of critical thinking than younger ones (Chang et al., 2011 ; Chen et al., 2019 ; Feng et al., 2010 ; Ludin, 2018 ; Wangensteen et al., 2010 ; Yurdanur, 2016 ; Zuriguel‐Pérez et al., 2018 ), and nurses with more experience report a better critical thinking ability than those with less experience (Chang et al., 2011 ; Chen et al., 2019 ; Feng et al., 2010 ; Ludin, 2018 ). Older and experienced nurses are more mature in their way of thinking (Chen et al., 2019 ; Ludin, 2018 ). Because there were statistically significant positive correlations among age, the duration of working as a nurse and the duration of working in the current hospital. This indicates that older nurses have a longer duration of working as a nurse or working in the current hospital so they have better critical thinking. However, the correlation between these factors and critical thinking in the current study is small; further explorations are suggested.
This study showed that there is a significant association between critical thinking ability and gender and ethnicity, which is also supported by the literature. Ludin ( 2018 ) found that female nurses reported a lower critical thinking ability than male nurses. Traditionally, females have generally had fewer opportunities to receive education and more difficulty asserting their rights during decision‐making than males in Vietnam (L. T. Nguyen et al., 2017 ). Even today, the phenomenon of gender inequality still exists in certain areas in Vietnam. This traditional burden and the limited opportunities to practice in a clinical care setting might lower the levels of the female participants’ critical thinking. Ethnicity has a similar impact, as found in the present study. For example, it has been reported that Caucasian and Hispanic/Latino participants have a significantly higher critical thinking ability than African American participants (Lang et al., 2013 ) and that Malaysian and Indian participants report different levels of critical thinking; nevertheless, only 0.9% of the participants were Indian (Ludin, 2018 ). However, in the present study, as almost all of the participants were Vietnamese (96.7%), the skewed distribution of the ethnicity might limit the generalizability of the results. In future studies, an equal distribution of ethnicity is strongly recommended.
This study also confirmed that those who had a bachelor's/graduate degree had a higher level of critical thinking than those who had a diploma or associate degree, even though the former had never heard the term "critical thinking." A vast amount of studies has found that education has a positive impact on the level of critical thinking (Chang et al., 2011 ; Gloudemans et al., 2013 ; Ludin, 2018 ; Yildirim et al., 2012 ; Zuriguel‐Pérez et al., 2018 ). Meanwhile, this study found that participants who had heard the term "critical thinking" displayed a higher level of critical thinking than those who had not heard this term. Education might be the major reason for this variation. In the present study, only 40.7% of participants had a bachelor's/graduate degree. In order to promote their levels of critical thinking, it is necessary to arrange for them, to encourage them, to attend advanced education or to provide further content in the in‐service education.
In this study, participants with very good health had a higher level of critical thinking than participants who self‐rated their health as fair/bad/very bad. Health status does have an impact on work productivity, job performance, quality of care and extra learning (Letvak et al., 2011 ). Thus, poor health limits their learning and critical thinking ability. This ability is an important predictor of real‐life outcomes (e.g. interpersonal, work, financial, health and education) (Butler et al., 2017 ). Therefore, the causal effects between health and critical thinking ability need further exploration.
In the current study, only the female gender and the type of work position as an AA or GN were identified as predictors, and they explained only 11% of the total variance of critical thinking ability in the regression model. The uneven distribution of gender and work position might be the reason for the low variance. Even though the male was significantly less than the female, NM was fewer than GN and AA. More factors need to be included in further studies.
The limitations of this study include that it used a convenience sample from only three public hospitals located in the Southwestern part of Vietnam. This sample does not represent all professional nurses in Vietnam. The N‐CT‐4 Practice is the instrument with good psychometric properties specific for clinical practice and translated into English (Zuriguel‐Pérez et al., 2017), Persian (FallahNezhad & Ziaeirad, 2018 ) and Turkish (Urhan & Seren, 2019 ). Different points of the Likert response format were selected by tools to measure critical thinking ability. For example, the N‐CT‐4 Practice selected a four‐point Likert response and it was rated in frequency, such as 1 = never or almost never and 4 = always or almost always. However, a seven‐point Likert scale for the Critical Thinking Disposition Assessment (CTDA) was selected and rated in levels of agreement, such as 1 for very strongly disagree and 7 for very strongly agree (Cui et al., 2021 ). Which response format can be more reprinting the characters of critical thinking ability? Further investigation is strongly suggested. Besides, the N‐CT‐4 Practice (V‐v) questionnaire has too many items that may lead to the boredom of the participants to answer and thus affect the accuracy of the results. Moreover, the collapsing of three distinctly separate groups of nurses into one group for most of the analyses lead to not showing differences in critical thinking and influencing factors among the three groups. These factors all limit the generalization of the present results. Based on these limitations, it is suggested that the use of nationwide systematic sampling and an international comparison are strongly suggested in further studies. Regarding the critical thinking questionnaire, it would be better to use the revised versions with fewer questions. Therefore, developmental and psychometric properties are suggested to shorten this questionnaire.
The results demonstrate that most of the professional nurses had a low or moderate critical thinking ability. Certain personal and occupational variables were significantly associated with the level of critical thinking. Being male or working as an NM were statistically significant predictors of critical thinking ability, and they explained only 11% of the total variance.
The findings of this study indicate that it is necessary to develop strategies to improve the critical thinking ability of professional nurses. The critical thinking ability has been confirmed to be an essential factor for high‐quality health care that focuses on the quality of patient care and patient safety. Besides, providing more opportunities to pursue advanced degrees or enhancing the provision of in‐service education in hospitals that involves classroom teaching or web‐based learning is strongly recommended for this specific group of nurses. Consequently, the quality of patient care could be improved.
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
The authors would like to thank the expert panel, translators, research assistants, the hospitals and all of the clinical nurses who participated in this study. We are indebted to the study participants and would like to dedicate the research findings to improving the critical thinking ability of Vietnamese professional nurses in the future. No specific grant was received from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not‐for‐profit sectors.
Van Nguyen T, Liu H‐E. Factors associated with the critical thinking ability of professional nurses: A cross‐sectional study . Nurs Open . 2021; 8 :1970–1980. 10.1002/nop2.875 [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ CrossRef ] [ Google Scholar ]
Search Resources Hub
4 min read • June, 08 2023
If you're considering a career in nursing and have wondered what the qualities of a good nurse are, you're probably already displaying some of these essential nursing characteristics. Whether you're entering the nursing field or are a seasoned nurse, taking the time to understand nursing strengths demonstrates insight and a desire for ongoing self-improvement.
You might assume those entering the nursing field must have the qualities of a good nurse, but that's not always the case. Some nurses pursue a career in this profession because it's lucrative and offers many growth opportunities. They then end up dissatisfied with their career choice or suffer from burnout when they realize they don't possess the characteristics needed to succeed in nursing.
There are many ways to define a good nurse. In general, it means bringing your best qualities to work to promote positive patient outcomes and striving to strengthen the nursing profession. While working as an essential member of a health care team, you seek solutions to improve patient care and advocacy. And certain personality traits and characteristics of a nurse go a long way in helping you succeed in the nursing profession.
Other sought-after personality traits of a nurse include:
Reviewing the qualities of a good nurse and nurturing those virtues within your nursing practice can help you provide effective care that contributes to your professional growth.
If you want more clarification about the primary goals and values of the nursing profession, the American Nurses Association (ANA) Code of Ethics for Nurses with Interpretive Statements is an excellent resource regarding ethical principles.
Additional ways to nurture strong qualities include:
If you’re a student nurse or considering a career in nursing , understanding the desired characteristics of a nurse can help you determine how to be a good nurse. It also allows the seasoned nurse to assess their own nursing strengths and weaknesses. Health care organizations look for these traits when seeking quality nurses. Regardless of your level of experience, cultivate the positive qualities of a good nurse to get recognized by prospective employers.
Images sourced from Getty Images
It would help if you learned how to think like a nursing professional nurse. What distinguishes the skills and thinking of a nurse from those of a dentist, doctor, or engineer? The difference is in how nurses approach patient safety, how they view them, and what problems they can solve. Professional & experienced nurses must learn about nursing theories, concepts, and ideas and build their intellectual capacity and communication skills to become self-directed and disciplined critical thinkers. To succeed, healthcare providers must have other innate or acquired clinical skills. Let’s compile what are the 5 critical thinking skills in nursing.
1. critical thinking as a nursing skill.
The ability to think critically is to identify problems, ask questions, collect evidence to support solutions and answers, evaluate alternatives, and effectively communicate with others to implement the best solutions. Critical thinking is essential in nursing. It helps practical nurses to learn how to prioritize and make good decisions. Nurses provide 24/7 nursing care to patients, so critical thinking skills are crucial.
The nursing model demands that nurses give vital care to patients to make them as comfortable as patients can be, attend to their physical, mental, and spiritual needs, and support the patients’ families. The patient’s physical, emotional, and spiritual needs can be overwhelming.
The technology continues to improve and is used in all aspects of nursing. Nurses use various technologies with every patient during each shift, including point-of-care computing, electronic health records, monitoring equipment, and more. The nurses use technologies such as vents (CCRT), IABPs, and others to help with patient care.
Flexibility is one of the most valuable qualities that a critical care nurse can have. Nurses need to have the ability to adapt quickly and to proceed following changes. Nurses must be able to quickly change their assignments, provide assistance where necessary, and do what is needed to support their patients.
A vital assessment skill is a necessity in clinical settings. If a nurse cannot “diagnose” but can give a physician an accurate assessment, that is still valuable. Nurses must be able to filter out irrelevant and illogical information and provide accurate and factual data to other caregivers, patients, and their families. Critical thinking nurses must be able to express themselves clearly, both verbally and in writing, and explain their clinical reasoning in a variety of healthcare settings.
Related:- Patient Care Skills in LPN Classes: A Holistic Approach
With Illinois College of Nursing accreditation , you can learn practical skills and evidence-based practice, such as how to dress a wound perfectly, take vitals without hesitation, or start an IV. You can learn all the practical skills you need in licensed practical nursing schools. Still, these skills will only get you far with the ability to think clearly and make rational decisions.
Critical skills are essential to the decision-making & critical-thinking process and impacting patient outcomes. Nursing necessary thinking skills are crucial to the decision-making and quality of care process.
In the emergency department, for example, nurses are often required to make triage decisions. They must decide which patients to treat first when there is a large number of patients. They rely on training to determine vital signs and consciousness levels. Still, they must also use critical thinking when analyzing the effects of delaying treatment.
Nurses use critical thinking in nursing every day, no matter their department. The ability to analyze and solve problems when faced with life-or-death decisions separates good clinical nurses from great ones.
Get Your Nursing Career Training Readiness Score Now!
Now, you know why is critical thinking important in nursing, You can improve your critical thinking even if you use it every day. You will improve the more you practice in the nursing profession. Learn from prerequisite courses of licensed practical nursing schools & get a diploma in nursing.
Solutions ∨
Learning and Performance → ∨
Mandatory Training Issue required courses and monitor compliance ∨
Continuing Education Offer clinicians training to meet license requirements ∨
Professional Development Engage staff and empower career growth ∨
Clinical Development Enhance skills with clinician-built content ∨
Certification Review Build knowledge and increase exam pass rates ∨
Competency Management Measure and evaluate knowledge, skills, and abilities ∨
Obstetrics Solution Reduce variation in care with data-driven learning ∨
Onboarding Solution Tailor nurse training and reduce turnover ∨
Recruiting and Staffing → ∨
Talent Acquisition Advertising Target your recruitment to our 3M+ nurse community ∨
Validated Assessments Gauge job fit with clinical, behavioral, situational assessments ∨
Nurse Job Board Post your nurse opportunities on Nurse.com ∨
Compliance Management → ∨
Compliance Software Meet requirements with easy to administer package ∨
View All Solutions → ∨
Who We Serve ∨
Who We Serve → ∨
Hospitals and Health Systems Large multisite systems, critical-access hospitals, staffing agencies ∨
Individual Healthcare Workers Physicians, nurses, clinicians, and allied health professionals ∨
Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Skilled nursing facilities, continuing care retirement communities and life plan communities, assisted living facilities, rehab therapy providers, and hospice agencies ∨
Behavioral and Community Health Behavioral health, intellectual and developmental disabilities, applied behavior analysis, community health centers, and children, youth, and family-serving organizations ∨
Home Health and Home Care Home health and home care agencies and organizations ∨
Government Organizations Federal, state, and local entities ∨
Case Studies ∨
PAM Health Supports Business Growth, Employee Engagement, and Better Patient Outcomes With Relias PAM Health utilized Relias to make post-acquisition employee onboarding easier and to influence positive patient outcomes through high-quality staff training and coaching. ∨
CSIG Depends on the Relias Platform Through Change and Growth Before 2020, Common Sail Investment Group (CSIG) conducted all its senior living staff training and education in person in different locations. ∨
Why Relias ∨
Why Relias → ∨
Technology Engage learners and ease burden for administrators ∨
Measurable Outcomes Improve workforce, organization, and patient results ∨
Services Reduce administrative burden with professional solutions ∨
Expert Content Trust Relias for quality, award-winning courses and tools ∨
Community Tap into clinician resources and peer support ∨
Resources → ∨
How Mental Health and Social Determinants Are Driving Maternal Mortality The CDC has uncovered another dimension affecting the already alarming problem of maternal mortality in the U.S… ∨
2023 DSP Survey Report The 2023 DSP Survey Report highlights feedback from 763 direct support professionals (DSPs) across the country on job satisfaction, supervision… ∨
Resources ∨
Resource Center → ∨
Blog Keep up with industry trends and insights ∨
Articles and Reports Review recently published thought leadership ∨
Success Stories Read about Relias clients improving outcomes ∨
Events Find Relias at an upcoming industry conference ∨
Webinars Register for upcoming key topic discussions ∨
Support Contact us for help with your account ∨
Podcast Explore conversations with healthcare experts ∨
Upcoming Event ∨
Wild on Wounds Conference 2024 Wild on Wounds (WOW) is the third largest wound care conference in the nation, focused on advancing our healthcare workforce with impactful hands-on wound care education built by and for clinicians. ∨
Contact Sales → ∨
About Relias → ∨
Careers View our open positions ∨
Media Review our latest news and make press inquiries ∨
Alliances and Partnerships Scan our industry connections and relationships ∨
Awards Check out our latest recognitions ∨
Diversity Learn more about Relias’ commitment to DEIB ∨
In the News → ∨
Relias Named to Top 10 of Top 100 Healthcare Tech Companies of 2023 Relias announced that it has been named number 10 among the Top 100 Healthcare Technology Companies of 2023 chosen by The Healthcare Technology Report. ∨
Login Portals ∨
Relias Learning ∨
Nurse.com ∨
Relias Academy ∨
Wound Care Education Institute ∨
Relias Media ∨
Need help logging in?
By Felicia Sadler, MJ, BSN, RN, CPHQ, LSSBB and Elizabeth Snively , on December 15, 2023
Registered nurses are more in demand than ever in terms of projected job growth, impact, and leadership. With the significant need for RNs nationally and globally, understanding the qualities of a good nurse is critical for hospitals and health systems aiming to attract and retain the best nursing talent.
As new nurses enter the workforce, identifying and encouraging specific nursing qualities helps healthcare organizations recognize strong candidates for hire and understand which of their current nurses would make great leaders. With well over five million RNs in the U.S., it’s helpful to consider the essential qualities of a good nurse that help them succeed in today’s fast-paced and everchanging healthcare landscape.
1 – caring and compassion.
Many people assume that nurses enter the field because compassion is one of their leading qualities — but this nursing characteristic isn’t necessarily a given. Many who choose nursing prioritize the job security of nursing or see it as a career starting point while failing to consider whether they have the compassion needed to become a good nurse.
But as a nursing quality, compassion makes all the difference to patients. Nurses who show they truly care about their patients — and how well they perform their jobs — have a greater likelihood of advancing, making compassion a key indicator for nurse success.
Strong communication skills are an important nurse characteristic. Good nurses rely on the ability to effectively communicate with other nurses, physicians, and clinicians in other units and with patients and their families.
Without the ability to interpret and accurately convey critical information, medical errors are more likely to occur, patients may feel neglected or misinformed, and an entire unit could feel the impact. By prioritizing great communication skills, nurses provide safer care, which in turn benefits their patients, their units, and the entire hospital or health system — not to mention their own long-term careers.
With nurses caring for perhaps thousands of patients during their careers, it can be all too easy to become desensitized or forget what it was like to be a nonclinical person. A good nurse is one who shows empathy for every patient, making a true effort to put themselves in their patients’ shoes.
By practicing empathy, nurses are more likely to treat their patients as individuals, focusing on a person-centered care approach rather than strictly following routines and guidelines. When patients are fortunate enough to encounter this characteristic in a good nurse, it makes for a far better care experience and healing journey.
Nurses are undoubtedly under immense pressure as they balance following orders from physicians with using their own knowledge, skills, and critical judgement to provide the highest quality patient care. Add to this caring for multiple patients simultaneously, and the possibility of making an error can seem almost inevitable.
A good nurse knows the stakes are high and that unlike most other industries, they’re responsible for peoples’ well-being and — more importantly — their lives. Being organized, accurate, and attentive to details are nursing traits that determine how successful they’ll be in their role.
While clinical training occurs throughout a nurse’s education, on-the-job training is the most effective way to develop a nurse’s problem-solving skills. Years of experience help hone this skill, but good nurses work to improve their problem-solving skills.
Problem-solving skills are essential to nursing, as nurses generally have the most one-on-one time with patients and are often responsible for making decisions about issues that arise with their care. Even seemingly small decisions can proactively improve outcomes — or conversely, cause major adverse impacts if incorrectly made.
The physical demand on nurses is perhaps one of the most underestimated aspects of their role. In one shift, a nurse lifts an average of 1.8 tons (roughly the weight of a hippo) by lifting and adjusting patients. Additionally, studies have found that nurses walk an average of four to five miles per shift .
In an average 12-hour shift, nurses exercise a unique balance of physical and emotional stamina that few other occupations encounter. This extremely important quality impacts nurses, their coworkers, and of course, patients. Having sufficient stamina and staying power are important qualities of a great nurse.
To derive satisfaction from such a mentally and physically exhausting role, nurses who can find time for a laugh are typically more successful. Because nurses encounter varying degrees of high-stress situations, taking the opportunity to enjoy the downtime and incorporate a lighthearted attitude can provide a sense of stress relief and ensure their well-being over the long term.
Having a good sense of humor also helps spread positivity to other nurses, patients, and their families. A good sense of humor is not only a characteristic of a nurse leader but reminds patients and their families that nurses are people too and ultimately increases their trust and openness to sharing feedback and concerns.
The concept of advocacy is a core tenet of health care, from the Hippocratic oath to nearly every hospital’s mission statement in one phrasing or another — keep patients safe and deliver the highest quality of care. In other words, be an advocate for patients, with special attention to their overall safety.
As one of the leading qualities of a nurse, patient advocacy is a mindset that a good nurse must practice every day with every patient, throughout every stage of the care continuum. Many patients enter a hospital or healthcare setting feeling disoriented, confused, and unable to advocate for their own safety. A nurse who empowers patients through education and engagement will help them get the best care.
With constant technological improvements and breakthroughs in science, the healthcare industry and its workers must successfully adapt. Nurses’ willingness to develop themselves — and put their new knowledge into practice — is one of the leading traits of a good nurse.
Improvements in educational approaches such as interprofessional training and personalized learning can help foster successful learning environments, but a good nurse must possess flexibility and a willingness to learn for them to be truly beneficial. This important skill applies to nurses of all ages, throughout every stage of their career — from recent graduates to the highly experienced.
While having the willingness to learn is an important skill, putting that knowledge into successful practice requires the ability to think critically — especially in high-stress situations. A nurse with high-functioning critical thinking has one of the most important characteristics of a professional nurse.
After years of education and training, the ability to apply clinical guidelines and best practices on the floor depends on a nurse’s capacity for critical thinking, which is quickly noticed by leadership, other nurses, and ultimately, patients. While this skill can improve over time, it may come more readily to some nurses than others.
Balancing multiple patients, stressful care settings, and competing priorities is no small feat during a 12-hour shift. Having effective time management is a key personality trait for nursing, as is being able to concentrate on the most critical issues first — and not necessarily the most demanding patient or family.
Setting time aside for self-care is also a crucial component of time management. Neglecting to take a quick break or regroup during an especially intense shift won’t benefit anyone involved in the care process.
While most nurses approach their careers with patient care in mind, some will eventually transition into leadership roles . Unfortunately, it’s all too common for a promotion to happen without adequate training, development opportunities, or sufficient mentoring and support to achieve the level of professionalism and ethics that good leadership requires.
The ability to lead is a quality that continues to become more valuable in nursing and is not limited to individuals who are in leadership roles. Exercising leadership skills in any role or level shows that a nurse can serve as a model of integrity and effectiveness for others. Being a mentor in any capacity helps others become better nurses and benefits both the organization and the nursing profession itself.
It’s important to note that as veteran nurses leave the healthcare field and begin retirement, they’re taking with them years of experience and knowledge that cannot be quickly replaced. As nursing leaders work to bring in new nurses, available candidates are predominantly new graduate nurses — a stark contrast to their predecessors in terms of experience and the many patient care skills and knowledge that can only come with time and practice.
By engaging with new nurses to instill an expectation of continuous learning — while creating a positive environment for them to learn from experienced nurses without fear of judgment — nursing leaders can set new nurses up for success, benefiting their careers, the organization, and most importantly — their patients.
With today’s diverse patient populations, every nurse needs to understand the importance of being culturally inclusive of others. Communication, customs, and expectations for medical treatment may vary depending on patients’ cultural backgrounds. A good nurse takes these factors into consideration when treating patients to better understand their needs and provide culturally sensitive care.
Cultural awareness also factors in when working as part of a clinical team. Nurses must work with a continuously changing staff of providers and clinicians who may have different communication or work styles. Being prepared for diversity in healthcare settings ensures that a nurse can work productively with everyone and contribute to a workplace that fosters teamwork, collaboration, and a sense of belonging for all.
Prospective nurses should consider these essential characteristics and where they fall in terms of demonstrating each skill or trait. Those who exemplify most of these traits or have the potential and desire to develop them should do well as a nurse.
Everyone must start somewhere, and the main driver of success is a passion to get there. Motivation is perhaps the strongest force to propel a future successful nurse to take the necessary steps to make their career aspirations a reality.
Organizations need solutions to ongoing challenges like retention, compliance, competency management, revenue cycle management, diversity, and employee well-being. In this podcast, Relias talks to experts across the healthcare continuum who address and solve those problems every day.
Browse episodes →
With the global nursing workforce still experiencing a significant shortage of new nurses entering the field for the foreseeable future, hospitals and health systems can welcome and encourage aspirational nurses through a range of career entry points. Explore the following steps to help prospective clinicians begin their nursing journey:
Nursing is one of the most rewarding healthcare professions, and many nurses could not see themselves doing anything else. Even with the considerable challenges of the role, many nurses are fulfilled just by knowing they make a difference every day. Nurses have both the privilege and satisfaction of a career spent in service to both the greater good and every patient entrusted to their care.
As the national leader in holistic healthcare assessments, Relias empowers nursing leaders to leverage data to make informed hiring and placement decisions, helping them achieve better long-term nurse success, satisfaction, and retention. Assessment data helps nursing leaders identify developmental areas and skill gaps, continuously measure competencies, and cultivate future leaders.
Additionally, Relias offers a wealth of professional development for nursing leaders on management and leadership education, including:
Felicia Sadler, MJ, BSN, RN, CPHQ, LSSBB
Vice President, Quality, Relias
Elizabeth Snively
Content Marketing Manager, Relias
Share This Article
Download our guide containing 15 examples of behavioral interview questions to identify great nurses who possess essential characteristics and skills, including communication, empathy, problem-solving, resilience, and a patient-safety orientation.
Nursing leadership: what is it and why is it important.
5 min read | Posted June 6, 2024
Good leadership in nursing motivates and inspires nurses to practice at the top of their licensure and drives the entire team’s success. We look at the impact good leadership has on healthcare organizations.
2 min read | Posted September 19, 2023
Anyone can become a transformational leader by reflecting on their attitudes and mindset. Get started by putting these four elements into action.
5 min read | Posted September 4, 2023
Transformational leadership, the preferred management style of Magnet®-designated hospitals, transform teams to higher levels of practice.
to find out more about our training and resources
Get Started
5 Interview Questions That Gauge Critical Thinking Skills
As a job candidate, you're likely to encounter interview questions designed to assess your critical thinking skills. Employers highly value these skills because they demonstrate your ability to analyze information, solve problems creatively, and make sound decisions. In a world filled with AI, an overabundance of data, increasingly rapid decision-making, and greater autonomy with remote work, critical thinking skills are atop employers' lists of desired candidate traits.
Every company will put their own spin of critical thinking interview questions, but here are five of the most common questions that you should be ready to answer:
The good news with these five questions is that if you construct good answers for each of them, you'll be well-positioned to handle any other variations you come across.
Best 5% interest savings accounts of 2024, key points, words and themes to included in your response.
When you're answering critical thinking interview questions, it's vital for you to demonstrate how you analyze situations, assess and solve challenges, and reflect and learn from your experiences. And that's where the SHER Method can be especially helpful.
The SHER Method is a structured approach to answering interview questions that stands for Situation, Hurdle, Endgame, and Reflection. When using this method, you start by briefly describing the Situation or context of the experience you're sharing. Next, you explain the Hurdle or challenge you faced. Then, you detail the Endgame, which includes the actions you took to address the challenge and the results you achieved. Finally, you conclude with a Reflection, sharing what you learned from the experience and how it has influenced your subsequent professional conduct.
The SHER Method is particularly powerful for demonstrating critical thinking skills because it guides candidates to systematically analyze a situation, identify challenges, explain their problem-solving process, and reflect on outcomes and lessons learned. It showcases your ability to think critically and learn from experiences in a structured and compelling way. And that's really the foundation of critical thinking skills.
When answering critical thinking interview questions, keep these points in mind:
Let's look at some specific answers to some of the aforementioned questions that assess critical thinking skills.
Question 1: Tell me about a time you had to solve a complex problem at work. What was your approach?
Why is this an important question that is often included in interviews? It's because there is no shortage of complex problems that need solving, and when a company is making a big hire, it hopes the candidate has some good solutions.
In your answer, describe the complex problem you faced, explain the main challenges you encountered, detail the steps you took to solve the problem, and share what you learned from the experience.
Here's an example answer: "In my previous role as a project manager, we were tasked with implementing a new software system that would integrate multiple departments. The primary challenge was significant resistance to change from each department. I started by mapping out all the current processes and identifying areas of overlap. Then, I conducted interviews with key stakeholders from each department to understand their specific needs and concerns. Using this information, I created a phased implementation plan that addressed each department's unique requirements while still achieving our overall integration goals. This experience taught me the importance of stakeholder engagement in managing complex changes. I've since incorporated regular cross-departmental meetings into all my projects to ensure alignment and address concerns proactively."
Question 2: What do you think are the three biggest challenges facing our industry right now? How would you address them?
Why is this an important question that is often included in interviews? Simply put, it evaluates your strategic thinking and industry knowledge. If you're interviewing somewhere that prioritizes industry veterans, this question is quite common.
In your response, acknowledge the current state of the industry, identify three specific challenges, propose solutions for each challenge, and conclude with a forward-looking statement.
Here's an example answer: "The [specific] industry is currently facing significant disruption due to technological advancements, changing consumer behaviors, and regulatory pressures. The three biggest challenges I see are: 1) Adapting to rapidly evolving technology, 2) Meeting increasing customer demands for personalization, and 3) Navigating complex regulatory environments. To address these challenges, I would: 1) Implement a continuous learning program to keep our team updated on the latest technologies, 2) Invest in data analytics to better understand and predict customer preferences, and 3) Establish a dedicated regulatory compliance team to ensure we stay ahead of legal requirements. These challenges also present opportunities for companies that can adapt quickly. By addressing them proactively, we can position ourselves as industry leaders."
Question 3: Describe a time when you had to make an important decision with limited information or time. How did you handle it?
This question assesses your decision-making skills under pressure, which are relevant to lots of companies these days. In your answer, set the scene, explain the constraints you faced, detail your decision-making process, and share the outcome and lessons learned.
For example: "During a critical product launch, we discovered a potential safety issue just 24 hours before the scheduled release. We had limited time to gather information and make a decision, and any delay would result in significant financial losses. I quickly assembled a cross-functional team including engineering, legal, and marketing. We conducted a rapid risk assessment, weighing the potential safety concerns against the impact of delaying the launch. Based on our analysis, we decided to postpone the launch by one week to thoroughly address the safety issue. This decision ultimately saved us from potential legal issues and reputational damage. It reinforced for me the importance of prioritizing safety and quality over short-term gains, and the value of having a diverse team for rapid problem-solving."
Remember that when companies ask about critical thinking skills, they're not just looking for the correct answer but for insight into how you think and approach challenges. By demonstrating your ability to analyze situations, overcome obstacles, implement solutions, and learn from outcomes, you'll position yourself as someone who exercises critical thinking skills all day, every day.
One Community. Many Voices. Create a free account to share your thoughts.
Our community is about connecting people through open and thoughtful conversations. We want our readers to share their views and exchange ideas and facts in a safe space.
In order to do so, please follow the posting rules in our site's Terms of Service. We've summarized some of those key rules below. Simply put, keep it civil.
Your post will be rejected if we notice that it seems to contain:
User accounts will be blocked if we notice or believe that users are engaged in:
So, how can you be a power user?
Thanks for reading our community guidelines. Please read the full list of posting rules found in our site's Terms of Service.
IMAGES
VIDEO
COMMENTS
This process is examined under three aspects as thinking, emotion and desire. Objectives: This study was planned to determine the nursing department and the factors affecting the level of critical thinking of students. Methods: The sample of the study voluntarily participate in the study a total of 272 students who have been accepted.
Critical thinking is applied by nurses in the process of solving problems of patients and decision-making process with creativity to enhance the effect. It is an essential process for a safe, efficient and skillful nursing intervention. Critical thinking according to Scriven and Paul is the mental active process and subtle perception, analysis ...
Critical thinking in nursing is invaluable for safe, effective, patient-centered care. You can successfully navigate challenges in the ever-changing health care environment by continually developing and applying these skills. Images sourced from Getty Images. Critical thinking in nursing is essential to providing high-quality patient care.
They are taught how to maintain their critical thinking skills and how to enhance their competences (Allen, Rubenfeld, & Scheffer, 2004; Brunt, 2005). The inadequacy of critical thinking in nursing negatively affects the quality, efficiency, and competence in service, occupational professionalism, autonomy and competency in the occupation.
The following are examples of attributes of excellent critical thinking skills in nursing. 1. The ability to interpret information: In nursing, the interpretation of patient data is an essential part of critical thinking. Nurses must determine the significance of vital signs, lab values, and data associated with physical assessment.
Students' critical thinking trends, the results of analysis of variance according to the c lass they read, the right of women to male students were found and it was found that they received training in search and broadmindedness. Background: A thought requires various skills regarding intell ectual process. This process is examined under three aspects as thinking, emotion and desire.
The importance of nurses' critical thinking skills in improving clinical decision-making is well known (Lee et al., 2017; Ludin, 2018). It has been emphasized that critical thinking and decision-making skills are at the center of all nursing curricula in nursing education (Lee et al., 2017; Reji & Saini, 2022).
Successful nurses think beyond their assigned tasks to deliver excellent care for their patients. For example, a nurse might be tasked with changing a wound dressing, delivering medications, and monitoring vital signs during a shift. However, it requires critical thinking skills to understand how a difference in the wound may affect blood ...
Critical thinking is a complex, dynamic process formed by attitudes and strategic skills, with the aim of achieving a specific goal or objective. The attitudes, including the critical thinking attitudes, constitute an important part of the idea of good care, of the good professional. It could be said that they become a virtue of the nursing ...
2. Meeting with Colleagues: Collaborative Learning for Critical Thinking. Regular interactions with colleagues foster a collaborative learning environment. Sharing experiences, discussing diverse viewpoints, and providing constructive feedback enhance critical thinking skills. Colleagues' insights can challenge assumptions and broaden ...
A popular strategy to teach critical thinking skills in nursing education is simulation. Both live and virtual simulation can be implemented to improve critical thinking skills and clinical outcomes. Shin et al. (2015) studied the effects of multiple simulation exposures on critical thinking skills.
Critical thinking in nursing involves the ability to question assumptions, analyze data, and evaluate outcomes. It's a disciplined process that includes observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, and communication. For nurses, critical thinking means being able to make sound clinical judgments that can significantly affect patient outcomes.
Some of the most important critical thinking skills nurses use daily include interpretation, analysis, evaluation, inference, explanation, and self-regulation. Interpretation: Understanding the meaning of information or events. Analysis: Investigating a course of action based on objective and subjective data. Evaluation: Assessing the value of ...
In summary, critical thinking is an integral skill for nurses, allowing them to provide high-quality, patient-centered care by analyzing information, making informed decisions, and adapting their approaches as needed. It's a dynamic process that enhances clinical reasoning, problem-solving, and overall patient outcomes.
To investigate the impact of web-based concept mapping education on nursing students' critical-thinking and concept-mapping skills. 34: Zarshenas et al., 2019 : n = 90: 2 h for 6 days: Problem-solving: To investigate how training problem-solving skills affected the rate of self-handicapping among nursing students. 33: Svellingen et al., 2021 ...
Critical thinking skills. Critical thinking (CT) in nursing education is an essential tool that directs nursing judgment in optimal patient outcomes. Strong critical thinkers are inquisitive, open-minded, demonstrate flexibility in considering alternatives, and are prudent when suspending or altering judgments.
1. INTRODUCTION. Critical thinking is defined as the cognitive process of reasoning that involves trying to minimize errors and to maximize positive outcomes while attempting to make a decision during patient care (Zuriguel‐Pérez et al., 2015).The importance of critical thinking in nursing practice has been identified in the literature (Chang et al., 2011; Ludin, 2018; Mahmoud & Mohamed ...
Compassion fuels your desire to help ease the pain and suffering of others. These two skills contribute to inspiring trust in your patient relationships. Critical thinking and problem-solving skills: Nurses often work autonomously under pressure and must make decisions using critical thinking to put their knowledge into practice. A solid ...
According to Scheffer and Rubenfeld´s (2000) Delphi study, critical thinking in nursing is twofold: habits of the mind (affective components) and skills (cognitive components). Critical thinking can also be seen as a successive four-step process beginning with gathering information, followed by questioning and analysis and, lastly, involving ...
Some nurses are expert critical thinkers, while others struggle to comprehend and master this skill. Behavioral interview questions can help identify candidates who can make sound decisions based on informed thinking when faced with complex problems. Give an example of a time when you used critical thinking skills to solve a problem.
2.Compassion is the Second Critical Nursing Skill. The nursing model demands that nurses give vital care to patients to make them as comfortable as patients can be, attend to their physical, mental, and spiritual needs, and support the patients' families. The patient's physical, emotional, and spiritual needs can be overwhelming.
10 - Strong critical thinking. While having the willingness to learn is an important skill, putting that knowledge into successful practice requires the ability to think critically — especially in high-stress situations. A nurse with high-functioning critical thinking has one of the most important characteristics of a professional nurse.
Clinicians today need strong critical thinking skills in order to properly diagnose and treat patients. That's one reason why it is critical for educators to help medical students cultivate these skills early in their training. "Teaching critical thinking and clinical reasoning is the most transformational part of medical education.
The SHER Method is particularly powerful for demonstrating critical thinking skills because it guides candidates to systematically analyze a situation, identify challenges, explain their problem ...