Deliberate Reflection coupled with On-Line Case Modules: An Innovative Approach to Teaching and Evaluating Critical Thinking

Teaching and evaluating critical thinking is a challenge for not only NP faculty, but for faculty across the health professions (Millenium Conference 2011 on Critical Thinking).  This presentation will share critical thinking outcomes of a pilot intervention with NP students.  Preliminary findings are demonstrating  that the intervention group expresses  a  greater increase in critical thinking -reflected in  audio taped verbalized thoughts and associations -by simply adding   a systematic deliberate reflection (DR) component to Web initiative for Surgical Education  (WISE-MD)  simulation modules.   Using QSR NVIVO software, qualitative analyses are being conducted on both the free thought and deliberate reflections from the NP pilot. From these analyses, themes and categories of critical thinking are emerging. Once refined, those categories will be applied to all reflections to look for differences between the intervention and control groups.   

Advanced Health Assessment (one of the 3 P’s) and a foundational course across NP programs was the course utilized for this project.  The findings have application to all NP programs.  While surgical cases may seem specialty focused, the WISE MD modules address several important content areas of NP practice.  Exemplars will include patients who present with thyroid disease, abdominal pain and back pain.

Critical thinking skills and clinical decision-making are essential to the provision of high quality patient care and outcomes (AACN, 2011; IOM, 2011).  The uses of online modules with deliberate reflection are a valuable and accessible option to improve and master this NP skill.   Presenters are excited to share the findings with our NP faculty colleagues.   Learning about this relatively straight-forward highly innovative intervention will provide attendees with an ability to facilitate student learning of important clinical content while instilling critical thinking skills.