Critical Thinking Skills?

[jcox121]

I start Nursing School in a few weeks and was wondering if there are any ways to improve my critical thinking skills. Any help will be greatly appreciated!!

[MaryAnn_RN]

if you go to the nursing standard website at http://nursingstandard.rcnpublishing.co.uk/

have a look for gopee n (2002) demonstrating critical analysis in academic assignments. cancer nursing practice. 1, 7.

[Daytonite, BSN, RN]

critical thinking (rational thinking) has to do with utilizing facts you possess and applying them to situations you are seeking solutions to. the more you know, the better decisions you can make. i think the reason it seems elusive or mysterious to many is because the problems they seek solutions to do not always have the answers written somewhere with all the stipulations posed by the problem at hand. so, essentially, you feel unsure of what you are doing when it comes to reasoning these things out at first. often, there are multiple factors and bits of information from different disciplines (not always nursing nor science) that you draw from to get to these solutions. when you are first exposed to solving these kinds of problems, such as on nursing tests, it is common to err and forget to include some bit of information as part of your rationalization process which ends up affecting your outcome and answer. most of the time improvement in critical thinking skills comes from experience in problem solving. it helps to continually ask "why" things occur and seek the answers to those questions. chapter 5 of saunders comprehensive review for the nclex-rn examination, 3rd edition, by linda anne silvestri explains the practical application of critical thinking skills needed to answer nclex type questions. for answering questions on tests in nursing school, read the information on this sticky thread:

• https://allnurses.com/forums/f50/looking-test-taking-stratagies-224581.html - looking for test taking strategies

[DLS_PMHNP, MSN, RN, NP]

chapter 5 of saunders comprehensive review for the nclex-rn examination, 3rd edition, by linda anne silvestri explains the practical application of critical thinking skills needed to answer nclex type questions.

i graduate next april and am already reviewing that book for the nclex.

it is excellent.