The Investigation Of Critical Thinking Ability And Affected Factors Of Nursing Students In Changchun

Objective:The study was to assess the status of critical thinking ability of nursing studentsin Changchun and compare the difference among nursing students with differenteducation backgrounds. Exploring whether personal traits,course arrangements andteaching methods would affect the level of critical thinking ability of nursingstudents,thus providing references for cultivating their critical thinking abilitiesspecifically for nursing educators.Methods:On the principle of convenience sampling,800nursing students from4nursingschools were investigated using questionnaires.The questionnaire consists of generalinformation and Chinese version of critical thinking disposition inventory.Data wasanalyzed by SPSS17.0statistics software.The statistical methods of descriptiveanalysis,single factor analysis of variance, t-test, rank sum test were used to processdata.Results:1.The total score of critical thinking disposition of nursing students was273.96±31.68,which was in the medium level;the7dimensions according to scorelevel were:inquisitiveness （42.73±7.49）、 analyticity （41.07±6.17）、 open-minded （39.72±6.01）、 maturity （38.93±7.26）、 self-confidence（38.21±6.67）、systematic（37.71±6.26）、truth seeking（35.58±7.19）.2.The total score of critical thinking of nursing students with different educationbackground has statistical significance （P＜0.01）,the score of secondary studentswas lower than college students and undergraduate students respectively;truthseeking:the score of secondary students was lower than college students,which waslower than undergraduate students;open-minded: the score of secondary students was lower than college students;systematic and maturity: the score of secondary studentswas lower than college students and undergraduate students; self-confidence: thescore of secondary students was lower than undergraduate students; inquisitiveness:the score of undergraduate students was lower than the score of secondary students.3.The affected factors of critical thinking including academic record、 familyatmosphere、 the condition of communicating with parents、 characteristic、reading habit、 take part in extracurricular activities、 making diary、 thecurriculum of critical thinking and open discussion in class.Conclusion:1.The level of critical thinking of nursing students was medium, which needsimprovement.The inquisitiveness and analyticity ability were higher,whereas thetruth seeking and systematic ability were lower.2.The total score of critical thinking of nursing students with different educationbackground was different.3.The affected factors of critical thinking including academic record、 familyatmosphere、 the condition of communicating with parents、 characteristic、reading habit、 take part in extracurricular activities、 making diary、 thecurriculum of critical thinking and open discussion in class.4.In order to cultivate critical thinking ability of nursing students with differenteducation background, the nursing educators should cultivate students’ personal traitand offer critical thinking course and using different teaching methods.