Critical thinking in respiratory therapy.

Critical thinking has been defined as the disciplined mental activity of evaluating arguments or propositions and making judgments that can guide the development of beliefs and action steps.1 There is little if any debate that graduate respiratory therapists (RTs) must have critical thinking skills in order to be successful in the current healthcare environment. These skills are crucial to RTs having the ability to define patient care issues with a high level of accuracy.2 Furthermore, RTs must have the ability to be objective and receptive to others’ points of view with regard to patient care issues and be able to justify their own views based on data and logic. Critical thinking is also necessary as the RT evaluates evidence-based research in order to develop and evaluate care plans or recommend changes in respiratory therapy protocols.3 The ability to think critically is an essential component of providing quality respiratory care to patients. A high level of critical thinking skills and the ability to apply the appropriate best-practice protocols have been identified as requisites for graduate RTs in 2015 and beyond.3 Critical thinking has become increasingly important as RTs work with more acutely ill patients, deal with sophisticated equipment and technology, face complicated ethical questions, and manage an ever growing body of knowledge. Accordingly, educators continue to search for strategies that enhance the level of practical clinical experience that is available to students, as well as the curricular content and critical thinking skills that will result in practitioners who are appropriately trained to meet the respiratory care needs of the population. To foster critical thinking, educators must create learning environments that put emphasis on having the ability to: (1) pose clear and precise questions; (2) identify assumptions; (3) detect ambiguities; (4) use credible sources of information; (5) remain relevant to the issue; (6) look for viable alternatives; (7) withhold judgment; (8) deal with parts of a complex whole; (9) develop criteria for an answer; and (10) analyze arguments to come to appropriate conclusions.4 The educational environment must also place added value on creative problem-solving strategies rather than on simply knowing the “right” answers. In this issue of the Journal, Wettstein et al present the findings of a single program’s study of critical thinking ability in respiratory care students and its correlation with age, educational background, and performance on national board examinations.5 The study was well done and adds to the small body of literature on the factors that promote critical thinking in respiratory care students.