Effect of Reflective Thinking on Critical Thinking Ability in Nursing Administration Practicum of 4th Year Undergraduate Nursing Students Boromarajonani College of Nursing, Suphanburi

Abstract

          This two-group pre-post test design experimental research aimed to compare the critical thinking ability of nursing students before and after teaching using reflective thinking. The sample group was fourth-year nursing students at Boromarajonani College of Nursing, Suphanburi, who were practicing the nursing administration practice course between November and December 2023.The sample size was determined using the G * Power program with a significance level of .05. The sample group consisted of 24 people per group, totaling 48 people. The sample group was selected by random drawing without replacement. The experimental group received reflections by recording reflections and verbal reflections from the researcher. The control group received regular teaching and learning. The research instruments were a written reflection record form created based on the Gibbs's Reflective Cycle concept and a critical thinking ability test. The Paired t-test was used to compare differences in critical thinking ability score among the experimental groups, and to compare critical thinking ability score scores between groups, the Mann-Whitney U test was used.

          The results showed the mean critical thinking ability score of the experimental group increased statistically significantly (p < .01). The difference was statistically significant when comparing the mean critical thinking ability scores between the experimental and control groups (p < .05). The findings showed that verbal reflection combined with reflection writing during nursing practice helped develop students' critical thinking ability, learning through the process of reflective thinking, reviewing and reflecting on their own practice, leading to appropriate decision-making process in nursing practice for patient safety.