Applying critical thinking to nursing
Intended for healthcare professionals
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Applying critical thinking to nursing

Bob Price Healthcare education and practice development consultant, Surrey, England

Critical thinking and writing are skills that are not easy to acquire. The term ‘critical’ is used differently in social and clinical contexts. Nursing students need time to master the inquisitive and ruminative aspects of critical thinking that are required in academic environments. This article outlines what is meant by critical thinking in academic settings, in relation to both theory and reflective practice. It explains how the focus of a question affects the sort of critical thinking required and offers two taxonomies of learning, to which students can refer when analysing essay requirements. The article concludes with examples of analytical writing in reference to theory and reflective practice.

Nursing Standard. 29, 51, 49-60. doi: 10.7748/ns.29.51.49.e10005

Correspondence

altanprice@sky.com

Peer review

All articles are subject to external double-blind peer review and checked for plagiarism using automated software.

Received: 23 February 2015

Accepted: 10 April 2015

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