| The demands of accelerating change and complexity in society and its health care system have made critical thinking ability crucial for not only quality, but for survival. Over ten years ago, critical thinking became a required learning outcome for national accreditation of nursing education programs, yet there is still lack of consensus about what critical thinking is in nursing, and relatively little written about how nursing educators define and perceive critical thinking in nursing.;The purpose of this study was to determine if there were any common elements or themes in nursing educators' definition of critical thinking, to identify elements perceived by nursing educators as essential for a core definition of critical thinking, and to describe nursing educators' perceptions of the nature of critical thinking in nursing.;An investigator-developed questionnaire was used to survey full-time nursing faculty members representing 53 randomly selected baccalaureate nursing education programs within the United States. Results revealed expected diversity in the educators' understanding of critical thinking, but commonalities were also found. Nursing faculty viewed both cognitive skills (thinking processes) and dispositions (attitudes) as important elements of critical thinking. They also agreed that critical thinking in nursing is purposeful, primarily to solve problems, make judgments and decisions, and take appropriate actions to achieve positive outcomes.;The cognitive skills perceived as essential included analysis, discriminating, evaluation, information seeking, interpretation, logical reasoning, reflection, and transforming knowledge. The dispositions identified included contextual view, creativity, flexibility, inquisitiveness, and open-mindedness. They also emphasized the importance of domain knowledge and experience as a foundation of critical thinking.;The most prevalent over-arching themes that emerged from nursing educators' definitions were multi-dimensional thinking and problem solving. The definitions fell somewhat evenly across a continuum of complexity, ranging from those with a rather narrow and/or linear view to those with a fully complex and/or dynamic view. The educators also agreed that critical thinking is a complex, dynamic process that is learned in developmental stages that require developmentally appropriate teaching strategies.;The findings from this study suggest that a core critical thinking definition for nursing is needed to provide a common understanding and language for nurse educators. Ongoing faculty development activities are also needed to encourage and support nurse educators in examining their own view of critical thinking in an effort to help them develop a broad, multi-dimensional view of critical thinking for nursing. |
