Abstract:

Introduction: Clinical decision making as a fundamental part of nursing profession effects quality of nursing care the most. Nurse as a clinical decision maker uses critical thinking in providing proficient care. Evaluation of data and choosing proper intervention to reach a correct decision needs skillful thinking. Present studies related to critical thinking and clinical decision making didn't show similar results.

Objective: The goal of this study was to determine the relationship between critical thinking (CT) and clinical decision making of senior nursing students of Gilan University of Medical sciences.

Methods: In this descriptive study, all 50 senior nursing students of Shahid Beheshti faculty of nursing and midwifery and East Gilan faculty who were spending their last term of internship were chosen. Data collection questionnaire consisted of three parts of demographics, California critical thinking questions, and clinical thinking questions.

Results: Findings indicated majority of samples (86%) had poor CT and their mean score was 11.86±3.25. Chi square test showed significant relationship (p=0.001) between CT score and mean average of previous terms. In addition, mean score of clinical decision making was 66.7±4.9. Most students (70%) had systematic-analytic decision making and 30% had analytic-observational decision making. Also there was a significant relationship between clinical decision making score and mean average of previous terms (p=0.02). Fisher test did not indicate a relationship between CT score and clinical decision making.

Conclusion: In attention to lack of relationship between CT and clinical decision making score, the study hypothesis is rejected. Due to low score of CT and relation of clinical decision making  with job experience, it is necessary to use new methods of theory and clinical teaching in order to promote students' CT and providing more clinical opportunities.

Key words: Nursing education, nursing students, decision making, Critical thinking