Relationship between the Practice Environment of Nursing and Critical Thinking Disposition of Nurses in Local General Hospitals

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the relationship between the practice environment of nursing and the critical thinking disposition of clinical nurses in local general hospitals. Methods: A convenience sample of 468 registered nurses was obtained from three local general hospitals. Data were collected by a self-administered questionnaire during November, 2012. The survey tools were the K-PES-NWI verified by Cho et al (2011) and the critical thinking disposition instrument developed by Yoon (2004). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, one-way ANOVA with Scheffe test and multiple regression with SPSS/WIN 18.0. Results: The mean score for practice environment of nursing was 3.3±0.4 and for critical thinking disposition, 2.3±0.4. There were statistically significant differences in critical thinking disposition according to age, education, length of career, current position, and marital status. In multivariate analysis, factors related to critical thinking disposition were collegial nurse-physician relations and education level. Conclusion: The results of the study indicate that collegial nurse-physician relations in the nursing practice environment are related to nurses’ critical thinking disposition, and thus, it is important to improve the practice environment as well using individual approaches including on-the-job training to improve nurses’ critical thinking disposition.