| The purpose of this study was to assess critical thinking behaviors through self-report in the clinical practice of respiratory care. The instrument used centered on the seven critical thinking skills identified by Mishoe (1995). This study investigated the following research questions using quantitative, survey research methodology: (1) How do respiratory therapists rate themselves on the seven critical thinking dimensions identified by Mishoe (1995) in the practice of respiratory care? (2) To what extent do organizational variables: such as work setting, the role of the medical director, and administration and climate of the respiratory care unit affect the self-assessments of respiratory therapists?, and (3) To what extent do personal variables: such as number of years of experience in the profession, level of education, gender, and age affect the self-assessments of respiratory therapists?;The item pool for the survey was created from three sources: (1) a review of the critical thinking, adult education, and respiratory care literature, (2) an in-depth interview with Dr. Mishoe and the use of her raw data, and (3) an expert panel consisting of respiratory therapists from various work settings in respiratory care. Fourteen additional questions were included to investigate how organizational factors relate to critical thinking in respiratory care practice. And, background questions relating to respondents age, educational level, gender, and years of experience were included.;The sample for the survey was acquired from the American Association for Respiratory Care (AARC). A total of 1,971 surveys were mailed throughout the United States. The number of usable surveys returned was 975 giving an overall adjusted response rate of 51%. The conclusion of this research was that respiratory therapists self-assess their critical thinking behaviors highest in the following three categories: Prioritizing, Troubleshooting, and Communicating. Anticipating was self-assessed as the lowest critical thinking behavior. The role and level of support of the medical director, administration of the work setting, organizational climate, years of experience, and gender were found to affect the self-assessed critical thinking behaviors of respiratory therapists. The various work settings, managed care environments, age, and educational level were found to have no effect on critical thinking behaviors in respiratory care. Practical significance of this study suggest that experience seems to be the key to understanding critical thinking behaviors in respiratory care. Learning while on the job and through one's work is very important and must be understood. Both the individual nature and social nature of critical thinking are significant and therefore, situated cognition, reflection-in-action, and problem posing should be explicit components of professional curricula and continuing education in order to foster critical thinking in the practice of respiratory care. Implications from the study are related to practice and theory of adult education, critical thinking, health care and respiratory care in health care and respiratory care in that a small missing piece can now be added to what is known about the critical thinking behaviors of respiratory therapists. |
