The lack of Critical thinking in student nurses & new graduates has been a concern to the nursing profession. It negatively affects the quality of service & directly relates to the high error rates. One study identified that approximately 88% of novice nurses make medication errors with 30% due to lack of critical thinking. Failure to rescue was reported as high as 37% (Gonzalez, Hsiao, Dees, et.al 2022).
The authors identify that Nurse Educators need to change the way they teach nursing to prepare students to be effective communicators, critical thinkers, & creative problem solvers. Evidence-based practice has been advocated to promote critical thinking.
Teaching students about "Nurse Sensitive Indicators" with discussion can help with developing critical thinking. Discussions on how Evidence-based practice has changed the way both Medicine & Nursing has changed can help develop critical thinking.
