Respiratory therapists and critical-thinking behaviors: a self-assessment.
The purpose of this study was to assess critical-thinking behaviors of respiratory therapists through self-report. Using a quantitative survey research method, respiratory therapists rated themselves on seven critical thinking skills. The effects of personal variables on the self-assessments were also investigated. The respiratory therapists self-assessed their critical-thinking behaviors highest in the categories of prioritizing, troubleshooting, and communicating. Anticipating was self-assessed as the lowest-ranked critical-thinking behavior. Age and educational level were found to have no effect on the self-assessed behaviors, while years of experience in respiratory care and gender were found to affect self-assessed troubleshooting, decision making, and anticipating. The results of this study suggest that educators and clinicians should consider learning strategies that incorporate the use of experience when targeting novice practitioners.
Goodfellow
L T
LT
Department of Cardiopulmonary Care Sciences, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30303-3083, USA. resltg@panther.gsu.edu
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000488:Allied Health Personnel / Q000523:psychology*; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D003142:Communication; D003657:Decision Making; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008128:Logic; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017008:Negotiating; D012138:Respiratory Therapy; D012647:Self-Assessment; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013850:Thinking