Critical Disposition and Clinical Competency in 3 Nursing Colleges with Different Education Methods

Purpose: This study investigated critical thinking disposition and clinical competency of senior nursing students in 3 nursing colleges whose education methods were different; lecture based education, partially problem based learning (PBL) applied education or whole problem based learning applied education. Method: Participants were 399 diploma nursing students, and 92 undergraduate nursing students. The instruments used for this study were critical thinking disposition scales and clinical competency scales. Results: There was no statistical difference on critical thinking disposition except healthy skepticism between the 3 colleges. Clinical competency of the lecture based college was the highest. A significant positive correlation between critical thinking disposition and clinical competency were found in students whose scores of critical thinking disposition were greater than the median. Conclusion: This finding indicates that there is a need for further research on diverse nursing students who are studying by a various methods, prior to acceptance of a paradigm shift in nursing education from conventional lecture based methods to PBL applied methods.