Improving critical thinking of students: A great challenge in clinical nursing education

With regards to the importance and role of critical thinking in nursing, especially in clinical setting, achieving this goal(improving critical thinking) is very important. So nursing teachers encounter with the challenge of how asisting their students for promoting the critical thinking skills especially in clinical setting. The aim of this study is investigating the ways of improving critical thinking in students and suggesting implications in this field.

This study is a review article has done by searching the books, Databases such as Iranmedex- Irandoc-Magiran-SID-Ovid-PubMed,... using key words such as ‘critical thinking “,Students”,”clinical education”and “nursing”.

Nurses in goal- directed education need to critical thinking. For improving it, providing especial contexts is necessary. Achieving this goal necessitate knowledge, attitude, ability, preparedness and exercise. After the presence of this elements there is need skill to improving critical thinking. These skills include general critical thinking skills such as using scientific approach, hypothesizing, problem solving, decision making and especial critical thinking skills in clinical settings.

Improving cognitive and affective domains, motivating, developing imbalance and situations for interactions and balance between challenge and support, writing assignments such as short summary(approaching methodology, summarizing materials, is the way for critical thinking education)writing short analytical articles, problem solving exercises, using mass media research proposals and simulation are some ways, that in different situations by modifying and changing, can use for improving the students critical thinking.