EXPLAINING THE CONCEPT OF CRITICAL THINKING FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF NURSES

Despite the experts and scholars’ consensus over the importance of critical thinking، there is a great diversity of views on its nature and definition. Defining critical thinking concept according to the discipline of nursing is essential. The aim of the present study is explaining the concept of critical thinking from the perspective of nurses. This study was done by depth qualitative interviews with 17 nurses including 12 undergraduate to doctoral level nursing instructors from the Nursing and Midwifery School of Tehran، Karaj، Isfahan، and 5 clinical nurses in Karaj hospitals. Sampling method was purposive. Themes extracted from the interviews including: 1. Antecedents of critical thinking including a) individual characteristics and competencies of student and teacher b) factors related discipline and relevant professional training system 2. Critical thinking attributes 3. Consequences of critical thinking involves a) personal factors b) systemic factors c) professional factors. Finally، the concept was redefined in the context of nursing. This study must be considered as the context to define the concept of critical thinking. As it was explained antecedents of critical thinking included students'' interest in poetry or verses and Hadiths، lessons linked to verses and Hadiths، and forcing students to think about the issues of creation can enhance their depth of learning that were not mentioned in the literature.