Critical thinking: impact on nursing education.

Critical thinking is considered an essential component of nursing science. As a concept in nursing education, however, critical thinking is not clearly understood nor systematically applied. A survey of deans and directors of baccalaureate and higher-degree schools of nursing accredited by the National League for Nursing examined perceptions of critical thinking as it is currently characterized in nursing education. Results indicated that critical thinking was conceptualized as a variant of the scientific method. It was explicated as a rational-linear problem-solving activity which reflected the nursing process. The findings demonstrated the respondents' lack of clarity about the fullest expression of the mechanisms and operations of critical thinking process and applications.