Nursing Faculty Members' Views on the Application of Critical Thinking Skills in Postgraduate Students' Curriculum: A Qualitative Study

Critical thinking skills are one of the goals of higher education and an expected capability for postgraduate nursing students who need to be nurtured during their studies and grow and develop after gaining educational experience and employment in the nursing profession. Given the position of these types of skills, the need for further studies in this field is felt. The aim of this study was to explore the views and experiences of nursing faculty members about applying critical thinking skills in postgraduate curriculum.

This study is a research with qualitative approach (directed content analysis) which conducted in 2020, using purposive sampling and maximum variation. 16 nursing faculty members of Golestan and Fars University of Medical Sciences participated in the study. The inclusion criteria were sufficient teaching experience at masterchr('39')s and doctoral levels. Semi-structured and open-ended interviews on teaching critical thinking skills to the students, as well as probing questions were used to collect data. Interviews were recorded, handwritten and analyzed according to directed content analysis method.

From data analysis, three main categories; "critical thinking skills", "factors affecting critical thinking", "barriers to critical thinking" and 12 sub-categories were developed.

Data analysis showed that the participants tried to reduce the theoretical teaching and increase analytical content, more and more critical thinking skills for better education of the students. Nursing faculties pay much attention to critical thinking in education and believe that it is a very useful skill in nursing profession. The results of this study can be used for proper planning to improve critical thinking skills education.