Critical Thinking: A Tool in Search of a Job

EXCERPT Almost a decade has passed since we completed our Delphi study to define the habits of the mind and skills for critical thinking in nursing. When we sent that manuscript off to the Journal of Nursing Education (Scheffer & Rubenfeld, 2000), we had visions of its publication heralding a period of improved health care and patient outcomes; nurses would be stronger thinkers and, consequently, better providers, once the dimensions of critical thinking were defined. We had found that the lack of a consensus definition for critical thinking in nursing interfered with teaching and practicing this essential process. That dilemma became the impetus for our five-round Delphi study. The study captured the thinking of 55 nurse experts from nine countries. Those experts, representatives from nursing practice, education, administration, and research, agreed on and defined 10 habits of mind and 7 skills of critical thinking in nursing. AUTHORS Barbara K. Scheffer, EdD, RN is the Professor and M. Gaie Rubenfeld, MS, RN is the Associate Professor at Eastern Michigan University School of Nursing, Ypsilanti, Michigan.