Practice and effectiveness of "nursing case-based learning" course on nursing student's critical thinking ability: A comparative study.

BACKGROUND: Case-based Learning was an effective and highly efficient teaching approach that was extensively applied in education systems across a variety of countries. Critical thinking ability is an important indicator for access the study ability for baccalaureate nursing education.

OBJECTIVES: The study aimed to explore the effect of "nursing case-based learning" course on the critical thinking ability of nursing student.

PARTICIPANTS: A total of 80 students who were in Junior were included in this study. The experimental group included 40 students who selected "nursing case-based learning" course. The control group included 40 students who selected the traditional teaching course.

METHODS: The critical thinking disposition inventory (CTDI-CV) was used to evaluate the effects of the critical thinking abilities during the 1st week (pre-test), the 9th week (mid-test), and the 18th week (post-test).

RESULTS: There are no statistically significant differences between two groups in the pre-test thinking abilities (P > 0.05). After nine weeks, the critical thinking abilities of experimental group were significantly higher than control group (P < 0.05). Three obtained time-points had statistically significant differences of control and experimental group (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION: The "nursing case-based learning" was an effective course to develop the critical thinking abilities of nursing students. Strict instructional design was the guarantee for the smooth implementation of "nursing case-based learning" course.