Critical Thinking Self Checklist

As I assess my critical thinking abilities using the checklist, I believe that I am becoming more confident in my reasoning ability. I would rate myself right in the middle of the scale in the self-check list because I am certainly more confident in my reasoning as I learn what goes into critical thinking and analysis and gain a vocabulary for this, but I also realize that I can grow further in this area. I believe it is important that I continue to grow in my critical thinking like a BSN-prepared nurse. Sheffer and Rubenfeld (2000) list critical thinking skills that align with Brenner's theory which is relevant to nurses as they implement analyzing, applying standards, discriminating, information seeking, logical reasoning, predicting and transforming knowledge (p. 352). As I recognize the importance of these skills to my own practice, I want to improve some components of my critical thinking abilities.

I consider myself a highly contextual thinker, as I tend to be a big-picture thinker and not the type who “can’t see the forest for the trees.” However, I am not a very creative thinker. I like to assess situations based on the facts as they are displayed rather than possibilities that do not yet exist. I suppose this also makes me a fairly inflexible thinker; I analyze based on tangible aspects and characteristics and am not always open to other ideas that are not as clear in the immediacy of the situation.

I consider myself to have high intellectual integrity. I seek out the truth in situations and like to research all facts before I make decisions. This means that I am not a very intuitive thinker as I would rather base my reasoning on intellect than on gut feelings. I would rate myself right in the middle as far as open-mindedness. As I have mentioned, I can be somewhat closed-minded to ideas that do not tie to proven studies or statements. However, when it comes to proven ideas, I am very open to different possibilities.

I am highly perseverative in my thinking. I do not like to leave things unfinished; similarly, I do not like to leave a problem unsolved. I will work with dedication to find a solution to a problem no matter what barriers I find. However, I am less perseverative in my self-reflection. I like knowing about myself, but I do not spend a lot of time or energy in self-reflection or self-discovery. I rate myself somewhat low on the analysis of situations. As I mentioned previously, I am a big-picture thinker. Because of this, I do not break situations down to their component parts as much as I could. In the same vein, I don’t always recognize small details and am not highly discriminating.

After working with the information from the self-check list, I believe that I will pay attention to standards more in my thinking. While I am typically aware of the standards, this reading and work are showing me the importance of considering standards when making judgments and decisions. Bowels (2000) studied nursing students and found a high correlation between critical-thinking skills and appropriate clinical decision-making, due in part to recognizing standards and how to make judgments in support of them (p. 373). As it is important for me to provide ethical and effective care, I want to dedicate more of my thinking process to this area.

I am highly skilled in seeking out information. I like to be well informed in my decisions and therefore study extensively before making a decision. I also have strong logical reasoning due to my dedication to thorough research, and I can generally tie my conclusions to fact-based evidence. I also am quite able to predict how decisions will affect future situations. Because I am a big-picture thinker, I can generally see how a set of circumstances will apply to future situations. Similarly, I am skilled at translating information and knowledge from one situation to another. My strong logical abilities help me to analyze and assess major similarities and differences between situations and predict fairly accurately whether or not judgments and solutions would translate between the two.

References

Bowles, K. (2000). The relationship of critical-thinking skills and the clinical-judgment skills of baccalaureate nursing students. Journal of Nursing Education, 39(8), 373-76.

Scheffer, B. K., & Rubenfeld, M. G. (2000). A consensus statement on critical thinking in nursing. The Journal of nursing education, 39(8), 352-359.