Concept Mapping to Improve Critical Thinking in Nurses: A Pilot Study

Concept mapping (CM) has been used to help nursing students develop critical thinking skills and improve clinical judgment. CM is being used with greater frequency in health profession education settings to visually represent thought processes and links between variables that affect decision-making and patient outcomes. The objective of this pilot study was to evaluate the effectiveness of CM as a teaching tool to improve critical thinking and clinical decision-making skills of experienced nurses in a sub-acute care setting. Significant differences were found in participants’ critical thinking skills following a course involving concept mapping. This study offers staff development educators a new process to improve the critical thinking of experienced nurses.