Developing clinically savvy nursing students: an evaluation of problem-based learning in an associate degree program.

Faculty in an associate degree nursing program at a community college in NewYork City noted that nursing students lacked critical analysis, problem-solving, and decision-making skills and the reflective ability essential to applying nursing knowledge in clinical situations. This study reports on the use of problem-based learning as a teaching strategy and its impact on the development of critical thinking and communication skills in nursing students.