Examining the relationship between critical-thinking skills and decision-making ability of emergency medicine students.
OBJECTIVE
Critical-thinking ability would enable students to think creatively and make better decisions and makes them make a greater effort to concentrate on situations related to clinical matters and emergencies. This can bridge the gap between the clinical and theoretical training. Therefore, the aim of the present study is to examine the relationship between critical-thinking ability and decision-making skills of the students of Emergency Medicine.


METHODS
This descriptive and analytical research was conducted on all the students of medical emergency students (n= 86) in Shahrekord, Iran. The demographic information questionnaire, the California Critical Thinking Skills Test, and a decision-making researcher-made questionnaire were used to collect data. The data were analyzed by SPSS software version 16 using descriptive and analytical statistical tests and Pearson's correlation coefficient.


RESULTS
The results of the present study indicate that the total mean score for the critical thinking was 8.32 ± 2.03 and for decision making 8.66 ± 1.89. There is a significant statistical relationship between the critical-thinking score and decision-making score (P< 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
Although critical-thinking skills and decision-making ability are essential for medical emergency professional competence, the results of this study show that these skills are poor among the students.
Health Management and Economics Research Center, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Mohammad
M
Heidari
Department of Health Services Management, School of Health Management and Information Sciences, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Parvin
P
Ebrahimi
Decision-making; medical emergency; thinking