A comparative study of critical thinking levels in clinical decision-making of student nurses at Kampala international university, Uganda

Background: Critical thinking is the capability to adequately analyze information to make decision. Critical thinking development is an essential skill in nursing and medical profession. Goal of nursing education is to produce critical thinkers capable of making clinical judgments as well as clinical decision. Critical thinking is a form of reflective thinking or cognitive reasoning consisting of analysis and evaluation of existing communication, information and arguments using logic and reason. The study aimed to compare the critical thinking levels in clinical decision making among different groups within the student nurses at KIU using lecturing and CBL pedagogy.Research Design: Cross-sectional comparative design. Purposive sampling technique was adopted with total sample of 43 student nurses. Instrument for data collection was structured test questionnaire. PBDSM Numerical Scoring Framework using a 4-point -type scale was used to measure the level of critical thinking levels in clinical decision making. Data analysis methods were percentages and t-test. RESULT: CBL group showed participant’s level of critical thinking in clinical decision making was levels 1 to 3 in pretest and levels 2 to 4 in posttest while lecture method group was levels 2 to 3 in pretest and levels 2 to 4 in posttest using PBDSM. The mean CBL group pretest scores were 11.75 ± 2.53 and post-test scores mean value of 16.10 ± 72.08. Lecture method group pretest score mean was 12.27 ± 1.44 while their mean post-test was 14.00 ± 2.75. Both groups have a statistically significant level of 0.000. Conclusion: This study showed CBL has positive impact on critical thinking in clinical decision making of student nurses contributing to growing body of knowledge on nursing education, offer insights for improving preparation of nursing students for real-world clinical challenges as well as understanding how nursing education can better prepare students for the dynamic demands of healthcare practice in Uganda and beyond. Key recommendations include adopting evidence-based teaching strategies, such as simulation-based learning and case-based learning/discussion, to foster critical thinking development at all levels. Keywords: Critical thinking, clinical decision-making, nursing education, student nurses, Kampala International University, Uganda.