The Effect of Teaching Critical Thinking Skills on the Decision Making Style of Nursing Managers

Background: One of the main goals of nursing education is training them to provide proper medical services to patients as well as healthy people in the community and health centers using their knowledge and specific skills. This service requires nurses’ critical thinking and effective learning. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of critical thinking skills on decision making styles of nursing management. Methods: This interventional study is of semi-experimental kind and conducted on 60 nursing managers (30 in each group of the samples). In the beginning of the study, California questionnaire of critical thinking scale was completed by the participants. The intervention group received critical thinking skills training for 8 sessions (4 theoretical sessions and 4 practical sessions). A week after the end of the last training session, the same questionnaires were completed by the participants. Results: Prior to conducting the study, 2 groups were not significantly different regarding demographic variables. The mean score of critical thinking and decision making style of the control group was the same before and after intervention, but in the intervention group, the mean score increased. Conclusion: Teaching critical thinking skills increases the level of critical thinking and the use of rational decision making style by nurses. Nurses’ cognitive ability, especially their ability to process information and make decisions, is a major component of their performance and requires possession of critical thinking. Thus, universities of medical sciences are suggested to provide necessary support to allow the development of professional competencies, decision making, problem-solving, and selfsufficiency skills, which are influenced by the ability for critical thinking.