THE ART OF CRITICAL THINKING

From the time when we go to our orientation as brand new nursing students, we
hear the word: "CRITICAL THINKING." Which totally drew a blank on my head. I
would ask my profs: "What is critical thinking?" Their replies consisted of even
more abstract definition to an already abstract concept.

After I graduated (Thank God!!), I began to study for NCLEX and surprise,
surprise the words "critical thinking" kept popping up all over the place!! So, I
decided to understand once and for all what is the whole business of “thinking
critically.” I bet many of you are still trying to grasps the concept of what in the
world is "critical thinking" and how in the world do we learn how to apply it for
NCLEX...cuz that's the game plan--pass NCLEX!! So, here’s a brief overview of
what I learned about this coveted skill---Critical Thinking.

Here’s a list of the most commonly asked question about Critical

Thinking:
1) “What in the world is CRITICAL THINKING?” -- As you know there are loads of
long-winded definitions if you Google it. I’ve narrowed it to two words: Applying
reasoning.

2) “What is reasoning in nursing?” – Learning to think like a nurse. When we think

like nurses…we suspend our own beliefs that can interfere with patient care.
Instead, we keep an open mind in order to reason in a logical and sensible way.

3) “What does CRITICAL THINKING involves?” – It involves in trying to figure

out something; a problem, an issue, the views of another person, a theory or even
an idea in order to come up with sound, safe, and reasonable solutions.

4) “But what does it take to ‘figure out’ something?” In my experience working as

PCA and in my various clinical rotations…it takes entering into the ‘realm’ of what
the patient is thinking. No, you don’t have to be psychic lol. We’ve all heard the
concept of ‘putting ourselves into the other person’s situation right?’ Well, this is
what we do. By listening what the patient is saying, (or what the NCLEX question is
asking) we can understand what they are thinking. When we understand their way
of thinking, we have a better picture of how to “figure things out.”

5) “How can I apply reasoning?” – We need to think like nurses. How do we think
like nurses? By understanding nursing core content; the ideas, concepts, and the
theories that we learned in nursing school. These basic core knowledge will help us
develop discipline and structure so that we can become self-directed critical
thinkers.
6) “What characteristics to critical thinkers possess?” They tend to think deeply
and broadly. They quickly eliminate irrelevant, inconsistent and illogical thoughts as
they "reason" about what is the best way to provide patient care given a
situation/illness. Another characteristics that I have observed with nurses that I
worked with during my clinical rotations and who were critical thinkers; is that
they are fair-minded people, in other words, they suspend judgments until they
truly understand the view point of the patient and furthermore, when they can
articulate the position the patient/person has on the issue. Critical thinkers
constantly monitor their thinking, questioning and reflecting on the quality of
thinking. Let’s face it, we can easily deduce that poor patient care…must come
from sloppy and superficial thinking from nurses/student nurses.

7) “How can I become a critical thinker?” – Practice…practice…practice the art of

being skillful in applying intellectual skills for sound reasoning, and being away of
how others think and how we think around their thinking. Simply stated, we must
know how to apply our basic core content, suspend judgement (assuming we know
the answer to a problem/question). We must first gather information by listening
and learning what the patient is thinking, or what the NCLEX question is asking. We
must also focus on figuring out what the priority problem is, and integrating and
evaluating in order to develop the best and safest patient outcomes in NCLEX
questions or in real life practice.

Understanding (not memorizing) core content will help in applying and further
developing our critical thinking skills. Remember if you are trying to figure out the
topic of the question in NCLEX and analyze the answers….u are applying critical
thinking skills when you are able to pick the right answer.

Reference:
Paul, R.W. (1990). Critical Thinking: What Every Person Needs to Survive in a Rapidly Changing World. Rohnert
Park, California: Center for Critical Thinking and Moral Critique

Norris, S. P. & Ennis, R.H. (1989). Evaluating critical thinking. Pacific Grove, CA: Midwest Publications, Critical
Thinking Press