The comparison of critical thinking disposition of intensive care unit nurses and clinic nurses working in Uludağ University Medical Faculty Hospital

This research is an analytical study aiming at identifying and comparing the critical thinking disposition (CTD) of the intensive care unit nurses (ICU nurses) with that of clinic nurses and finally finding out some important points which affect their CTD. The research was carried out at Uludağ University Medical Faculty Hospital with the participation of totally 170 nurses, 107 of whom are clinic nurses and the rest 63 are ICU nurses. A data collection form and California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory (CCTDI) were used for collecting data. The CTD score of the nurses participated in the research is 258.62±24.7 and their CTD level is assessed to be medium. The results show that there is no statistically significant difference between CTD of clinic nurses and that of ICU nurses. The older the nurses, the less CTD they have. The working time of the ICU nurses does not affect their CTD; however, the more they work at the intensive care unit the higher self-confidence scores they have. According to the study, educational status does not have any impact on CTD of the clinic nurses. As for the ICU nurses, the more educated they are the more CTD they have. Although clinic and ICU nurses believe that they should use thinking processes, they refrain from taking responsibility about patients. They think that nursing should develop, but they are pessimistic about the feasibility of this improvement. The CTD scores of the clinic and ICU nurses are found to be medium. Therefore, some institutional policies should be generated, which will give nurses opportunity to think critically and to get autonomy. The development of nursing to a large extent depends on the life-long learning which demands that nurses should follow scientific publications and attend institutional and non-institutional scientific meetings and activities.