O desenvolvimento do pensamento crítico na formação de estudantes de graduação em enfermagem mediante uma intervenção de ensino: estudo experimental randomizado

Abstract

Critical thinking requires the use of all the knowledge produced up to now, as well as searching for sources that feed new knowledge and know how to direct them to the situations of practical application, with a unique evaluation capacity for each case. This characterizes a great challenge for the courses that propose to develop such attributes, which lead to continuous training, including for the training of nurses. It is hoped that the nurse will be able to develop critical thinking applied to the problem of the moment, so that the care provided to the patient is adequate, regardless of the situation that presents itself and its adversities. Thus, it is worth questioning whether a teaching strategy through the elaboration of Conceptual Maps associated to the resolution of clinical case studies favors the development of critical thinking in undergraduate Nursing students. Thus, this study aimed to analyze the levels of Critical Thinking developed in undergraduate Nursing students through a teaching intervention using Conceptual Maps. It is an experimental, randomized, double-blind study with before / after design, carried out with undergraduate nursing students from two public higher education institutions in different Brazilian regions. The protocol of this research was approved in its ethical and methodological aspects by CEP / UFRN, as recommended by Resolution no. 466/12 of the National Health Council, under Opinion number 752.501 and CAAE number 33917214.9.0000.5537. As a way of achieving the proposed goal and following the methodological rigor of the design, an Extension Course on Advanced Life Support in Cardiology was elaborated, consisting of dialogic expository classes and practical lab activities of skills lasting 60 hours; The California Critical Thinking Skills Test, complemented by a questionnaire with socioeconomic data, was applied at this stage. The 77 participants in the study were randomized to the Control Group (n = 38) and Group Experiment (n = 39), when the study intervention consisted in the construction of four conceptual maps through the use of Cmap Tools® Software. This study obtained data from systematic reviews of literature that suggest evidence-based practice as the teaching strategy that most favors the development of critical thinking, as measured by different measurement instruments, with emphasis on the California Critical Thinking Skills Tests. After analyzing the tests, a mean critical thinking score for the Control Group of 15 (+/- 3.5) and for the Experiment Group of 14.1 (+/- 3.7) were identified in the pre-test, In the post-test were 14.6 (+/- 3.9) and 14.1 (+/- 3.4), respectively. No statistically significant difference was found for a p-value of 0.05, according to the t-test. The Experiment Group contained a student who presented General Critical Thinking as Unmanifested, and after the intervention the value improved minimally to weak, in addition to an increased concentration in the general Moderate and Strong PC. As for critical thinking skills, there was a significant increase (p = 0.022) for the development of the Assessment skill for students in the Experiment Group. The study suggests that the teaching strategy through the elaboration of Conceptual Map is useful in the development and improvement of the critical thinking of undergraduate Nursing students.