Nurse educators’ critical thinking dispositions and research utilization

Summary

Nurse educators are becoming recognized as important facilitators of research use in the health care system, thereby contributing to improved patient and system outcomes. Currently, no published studies could be located that specifically examined critical thinking dispositions and research utilization of nurse educators. This paper reports research utilization behaviours and critical thinking dispositions of a random sample of nurse educators across a western Canadian province (n = 287). Descriptive statistics and correlations were compiled for research utilization and critical thinking dispositions measures. Almost all nurse educators who participated in the study scored above the target score of 280 on the California Critical Thinking Dispositions Inventory. The majority of nurse educators (82.1%) scored 280–350, with 15.4% of them scoring above 350, indicating high critical thinking dispositions. Nurse educators scored quite high on overall research utilization (mean = 4.4/5). They believe that research makes a positive difference in practice and reported using various sources of information. Our analysis indicates that there is a statistically-significant correlation between nurse educators’ total critical thinking dispositions and all measures of research utilization. Education of nurse educators must include critical thinking to maximize their role in promoting research use as part of evidence-based practice.

Introduction

Evidence-based practice (EBP) is the desired standard in health care today and so the integration of research into clinical practice is a significant issue for all disciplines, including nursing. This stance is premised on the belief that relevant research evidence should guide patient care and policy decisions, as inappropriate and inefficient care not based on evidence has been shown to have a significant and deleterious impact on service costs, patient outcomes and, ultimately, quality of life (Barach and Berwick, 2003).

Practicing nurses represent the largest group of health care providers working with patients and their families (Canadian Nurses Association, 2006). Therefore, even modest improvements in EBP aimed at this group have potential for enormous impact on the health care system. In particular, nurses in leadership roles who act as intermediaries, champions, or change agents (Elser et al., 1996, Lam and Schaubroeck, 2000) are becoming recognized as important facilitators of EBP, critical for achieving better patient outcomes (Estabrooks et al., 2005b, Ferguson and Day, 2004, Milner et al., 2006, Profetto-McGrath et al., 2007, Thompson et al., 2001b). One specific group of nurses in leadership roles is nurse educators. Although every registered nurse plays a role in educating colleagues, patients and their families, and students, the term nurse educator used in this paper refers to those with a specific and formal role educating nursing students in the classroom, laboratory or clinical setting, such as a professor or clinical instructor, those who provide client and patient education (e.g., diabetic patient educator), or those who teach employees. The role of nurse educators in EBP research has yet to be fully explored despite the fact that, through educating students, practitioners, and patients, they are becoming recognized as a critical link between research evidence and clinical practice. They are critical thinkers, making assessments and judgments on important issues, and have great potential to facilitate EBP. Studies of critical thinking dispositions in nurses suggest that those who are disposed to thinking critically are “more likely to make high-quality judgments and draw valid conclusions” (Profetto-McGrath et al., 2003, p. 323). Although there have been several allusions to the influence of critical thinking on research utilization, empirical evidence to support this link is sparse. Moreover, there were no published studies located that specifically examined research utilization and critical thinking dispositions in nurse educators. The purpose of this paper is to report research utilization practices of nurse educators using the Research Utilization Survey and to examine nurse educators overall critical thinking dispositions and subscales using the California Critical Thinking Dispositions Inventory. Ultimately, the findings will demonstrate a clear relationship between nurse educators’ research utilization and critical thinking dispositions.