Journal of Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences

  H. Babamohammadi [1] , M. Esmaeil pour [2] , R. Negarandeh [3] , N. Dehghan -Nayeri [4]

  Received: 13/11/2010 Sent for Revision: 28/04/2011 Received Revised Manuscript: 23/05/2011 Accepted: 02/06/2011

  Background and Objectives Today, the promotion of critical thinking skills should be considered as an expected outcome of BSc nursing curriculum . This study was designed to compare the critical thinking skills of nursing students of Semnan University of Medical Sciences with Tehran University of Medical Sciences.

  Materials and Methods: In this comparative and descriptive study, 70 and 120 of Y1 and Y4 BSc nursing students of Semnan and Tehran Universities (Tehran, Iran and Shaheed Beheshti Universities) were selected respectively using stratified random sampling . The California Critical Thinking Skill Test, form B (CCTST:FB) composed of 34 multiple choice questions was used to assess the critical thinking skills in five areas of analysis, evaluation, inference, inductive and deductive reasoning. Data was then analyzed using t-test and ANOVA.

  Results: The results showed that the mean and standard deviation of critical thinking scores for semnan and Tehran bachelor students were 12.34±2.45 and 10.4±2.75, respectively which were significantly different (t=1.95, p=0.002). There was a significant difference between critical thinking skills scores of nursing students in different years of study in Semnan (F3, 0=4.28, p= 0.000), But in Tehran Universities, there was only a significant difference between critical thinking skills scores of Y1 and Y4 students (t=-2.77, p=0.007).

  Conclusion: Bachelor nursing students of Semnan University had a higher score of critical thinking skills compared to their counterparts in Tehran. There was also a significant difference between junior and senior nursing students. Results from this study and of similar works suggest that more attention should be paid to the process of education based on nurturing of critical thinking skills.

  Key words : Critical thinking, Nursing students, Semnan University of Medical Sciences, Tehran Universities of Medical Sciences

  Funding: None declared.

  Conflict of interest: None declared.

  Ethical Approval: The Ethics Committee of Semnan University of Medical Sciences approved the study.

  How to cite this article : Babamohammadi H, Esmaeil pour M, Negarandeh R, Dehghan -Nayeri N. Comparison of Critical Thinking Skills in Nursing Students of Semnan and Tehran Universities of Medical Sciences . J Rafsanjan Univ Med Sci 2011 10(Supll): 67-78. [Farsi]

  [1] -Academic Member, Dept. of Medical Surgical Nursing, Semnan University of Medical Sciences, , PhD Student of Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Semnan, Iran

  (corresponding Author) Tel: (0231)3354190, Fax: (0231) 3354161 ,E-mail: babamohammady2007@gmail.com

  [2] - Academic Member, Dept. of Medical Surgical Nursing, Gilan University of Medical Sciences, PhD Student of Tehran University of Medical Sciences , Gilan, Iran

  [3] - Associate Prof., Dept. of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

  [4] - Associate Prof., Dept. of Nursing Management, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran