The purpose of this study was to construct and test a hypothetical model of clinical decision-making ability of nurses based on the Decision Making Process model and the Cognitive Continuum theory.

The data were collected from nurses working at 11 hospitals in Busan, Daejeon, and South Gyeongsang Province from June 30 to August 1, 2017. Finally, the data from 323 nurses were analyzed.

The goodness-of-fit of the final model was at a good level (χ ²/df=2.46, GFI=.87, AGFI=.84, IFI=.90, CFI=.90, SRMR=.07, RMSEA=.07) and 6 out of 10 paths of the model were supported. The clinical decision-making ability was both directly and indirectly affected by task complexity and indirectly affected by experiences, autonomy, and work environment. Specifically, it was strongly directly affected by analytical competency but was insignificantly affected by intuitive competency. These variables accounted for 66.0% of clinical decision-making ability.

The nurses’ clinical decision-making ability can be improved by improving their analytical competency. Therefore, it is necessary to organize nursing work, create a supportive work environment, and develop and implement various education programs.

The purpose of this study was to develop a critical thinking disposition scale for nursing students.

The developmental process was construction of a conceptual framework, development of preliminary items, verification of content validity, development of secondary items, verification of construct validity and extraction of final items. The conceptual framework and first preliminary 60 items were obtained through a review of relevant literature and the development of critical disposition scales by 10 researchers who had been studying critical thinking for one year. These items were reviewed by five specialists for content validity and finally 55 items were chosen. The data was collected from October 1 to 15, 2004 and was analyzed using factor analysis and Cronbach's alpha with the SPSS program. The subjects were composed of 560 Bachelor of Science nursing students from 8 nursing schools.

There were 35 final items which were sorted into 8 factors. The factors were identified as ‘ intellectual integrity(6 items)’, ‘ creativity(4 items)’, ‘ challenge(6 items)’, ‘ open-mindedness(3 items)’, ‘ prudence(4 items)’, ‘ objectivity(4 items)’, ‘ truth seeking(3 items)’ and ‘ inquisitiveness(5 items)’. The cumulative percent of variance was 55.107%. The reliability of the scale, Cronbach's alpha was .892 and the factors' ranged from .562-.836.

The result of this study could be used for measuring critical thinking dispositions of nursing students. However, for further validity and reliability, repeated research is necessary.

This longitudinal study was done to investigate critical thinking dispositions and critical thinking skills of nursing students enrolled in a 4-year baccalaureate program at a university in Korea.

The study used a longitudinal design. A convenience sample of 32 nursing students who were completing their 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th year in a baccalaureate program at a selected university was included. The subjects completed the California Critical Thinking Dispositions Inventory (CCTDI), the California Critical Thinking Skill Test (CCTST), and a demographic questionnaire. Data was analyzed by descriptive statistics, repeated ANOVA, adjusted p-values, and Pearson's correlation coefficient with SAS 8.12.

There was statistically significant improvement according to academic year in the CCTDI total mean score (F=7.54, p= .0001) and subscales of Open-mindedness, Self-confidence, and Maturity. Contrarily, no statistically significant difference was found in the CCTST total mean score and subscales' score except Analysis.

There is no significant correlation between critical thinking dispositions and skills, so it will be necessary to repeat a study like this, and the translated instruments should be modified by considering Korean culture.

This investigation examined the effect of PBL on the meta-cognition, critical thinking, and problem solving process.

The research design was pre-posttest with a nonequivalent control group design. Scenarios for PBL sessions were developed on the basis of textbooks and patients' charts and tested for content validity. Seventy six nursing students who took a ‘Nursing Process’ course from two nursing schools participated in the experimental group and control group. The experimental group performed PBL during the semester. Meta-cognition and problem solving processes were assessed by questionnaires which were developed using pedagogics. Critical thinking was measured by the CCTST(California Critical Thinking Skill Test) Form 2000. The data was analyzed by repeated measure (pretest-posttest) MANOVA, and correlation analysis.

PBL improved the participants' meta-cognition and problem solving process but not critical thinking. The relationship between meta-cognition and the problem solving process was supported but the relationship between critical thinking and problem solving was not supported.

These results suggest that PBL has a positive effect on nursing students' educational outcomes. To improve the problem solving ability of nursing students, PBL should be applied to more subjects in the nursing curriculum.

To develop a Critical Thinking Skill Test for Nursing Students.

The construct concepts were drawn from a literature review and in-depth interviews with hospital nurses and surveys were conducted among students (n=607) from nursing colleges. The data were collected from September 13 to November 23, 2012 and analyzed using the SAS program, 9.2 version. The KR 20 coefficient for reliability, difficulty index, discrimination index, item-total correlation and known group technique for validity were performed.

Four domains and 27 skills were identified and 35 multiple choice items were developed. Thirty multiple choice items which had scores higher than .80 on the content validity index were selected for the pre test. From the analysis of the pre test data, a modified 30 items were selected for the main test. In the main test, the KR 20 coefficient was .70 and Corrected Item-Total Correlations range was .11-.38. There was a statistically significant difference between two academic systems (p=.001).

The developed instrument is the first critical thinking skill test reflecting nursing perspectives in hospital settings and is expected to be utilized as a tool which contributes to improvement of the critical thinking ability of nursing students.

This study was done to investigate the relationship between critical thinking disposition and clinical competence among nurses in general hospitals.

This study was a descriptive-correlational study with a convenience sample of 560 nurses from 5 general hospitals. The data were collected by self-administered questionnaires. Critical thinking disposition was measured using the Critical Thinking Disposition Scale for Nursing Students. Clinical competence was measured using the Standardized Nurse Performance Appraisal Tool.

The mean score for critical thinking disposition and clinical competence was 3.37 and 4.10 respectively on a 5 point scale. A statistically significant correlation was found between critical thinking disposition and clinical competence. A regression model explained 72.8% of clinical competence. Prudence is the most significant predictor of clinical competence (R²=.728).

Study findings suggest that nurses with a higher level of critical thinking disposition would have a higher level of clinical competence. Furthermore, prudence might be the most important predictor of clinical competence. In order to strengthen clinical competence in nurses, the development and enhancement of critical thinking should be emphasized at the college level and nurses should be encouraged to make a clinical decision with greater prudence.