critical thinking in nursing and midwifery; the employers view

FELLOWS IN TEACHING AND

ACADEMIC DEVELOPMENT 2009-2011

Background

Critical thinking, as a graduate attribute,

is considered by many authors in

nursing and midwifery to be an essential

quality for nursing and midwifery

practice (Forneris & Peden-Mcalpine

2009, McMullen 2009, Jones 2010,

Drennan 2010 ) Critical thinking skills

are considered to be vital in making safe

and efficient clinical decisions (Ashcroft

2009), yet developing the capacity for

nursing and midwifery students to think

critically is a major challenge in nursing

and midwifery education (Mun 2010).

Evidence that critical thinking is

considered to be important is reflected

in the numerous references to 'critical'

and 'critically' in the module descriptors

of the degree level modules in the BSc

Programme in nursing and midwifery in

UCD. While there may be a stated

educational objective in this regard, the

views and requirements of employers of 

these future professionals, remains

somewhat unclear. This project, as part

of the wider Fellowship project on

critical thinking, aims to address this

gap.

Author

Tom O ConnorUCD, Belfield, Dublin 4

Email: tom.oconnor@ucd.ie Tel: +353-1-716-6430

References

Ashcraft T. (2010) Solving the critical thinking puzzle. Nursing Management 41

(1), pp8-10.

Forneris S.G. & Peden-Mcalpine C. (2009) Creating context for critical thinking

in practice: the role of the preceptor. Journal of Advanced Nursing 65(8), pp

1715-1724.

Jones JH (2010) Developing critical thinking in the perioperative environment.

AORN Journal, 91(2) pp 248-50.

Mun M.S. (2010) An analysis of narratives to identify critical thinking contexts

in psychiatric clinical practice. International Journal of Nursing Practice 16 (1)

pp75-80.

Drennan J. (2010) Critical thinking as an outcome of a Master's degree in

Nursing programme. Journal of Advanced Nursing 66(2), pp 422-431.

Critical thinking inNursing and Midwifery; the employers view

Methodology

A number of healthcare employers will

be interviewed with a view to

ascertaining their views on critical

thinking and what they expect of nursing

and midwifery professionals in this

regard. Emphasis will be placed on what

employers consider critical thinking to be

and if they value having nurses and

midwives who have developed capacity

in this area.

Gaining an insight into employers views

on this subject will provide important

information for curriculum and is in

keeping with the view of Jones (2009)

that defining and developing graduate

attributes, like critical thinking, is a task

for educators, policy makers and

employers. It is hoped that the

outcomes of this project will be used to

refine and enhance this area of nursing

and midwifery education within the UCD

Nursing and Midwifery Programme.

Personal statement 

My interest in the scholarship

and practice of teaching and 

learning stems from a curiosity 

with how it is people learn.

Particularly of interest in this

 project is how it is nursing and 

midwifery students develop

critical thinking for their 

 professional clinical practice their 

further learning