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Lajthia E, Law MG, Jorden J, Haynes B, Awuonda MK, Habib M, Karodeh YR, Wingate LT. The impact of critical thinking skills on student pharmacist GPA at a historically Black university. CURRENTS IN PHARMACY TEACHING & LEARNING 2024; 16:435-444. [PMID: 38594171 DOI: 10.1016/j.cptl.2024.04.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2023] [Revised: 03/30/2024] [Accepted: 04/04/2024] [Indexed: 04/11/2024]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Limited information is available regarding whether malleable factors such as critical thinking skills are associated with academic performance among underrepresented minority pharmacy students. This study assessed the relationship between critical thinking skills and grade point average (GPA) among pharmacy students attending a Historically Black College. METHODS A cross sectional study design was utilized to evaluate the association between student's GPA and critical thinking skills. Demographic data and GPA were abstracted from student records. The health sciences reasoning test with numeracy was administered to pharmacy students at Howard University during the 2017 to 2018 academic year. Critical thinking scores were classified as weak, moderate, or strong/superior. A one way analysis of variance was conducted to ascertain if the average GPA differed based on critical thinking skills category. A multiple linear regression analysis was conducted to determine whether student's critical thinking skill category was associated with the cumulative GPA after accounting for other factors. RESULTS Among 217 students, the mean GPA among students with a weak critical thinking skills score (3.22 ± 0.40) was lower compared to students with a strong/superior score (3.39 ± 0.33) with a p-value of 0.029. After adjusting for other factors, a strong/superior critical thinking skills score was associated with a higher GPA (p-value = 0.024) in comparison to weak critical thinking skills. CONCLUSION Stronger critical thinking skills scores are associated with better academic performance among underrepresented minority pharmacy students.
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Affiliation(s)
- Estela Lajthia
- Assistant Professor Clinical and Administrative Pharmacy Sciences, Howard University College of Pharmacy, 2300 4(th) Street NW, Washington, DC 20059, USA
| | - Miranda G Law
- Associate Professor Clinical and Administrative Pharmacy Sciences, Howard University College of Pharmacy, 2300 4(th) Street NW, Washington, DC 20059, USA
| | - Jamila Jorden
- Assistant Professor Clinical and Administrative Pharmacy Sciences, Howard University College of Pharmacy, 2300 4(th) Street NW, Washington, DC 20059, USA
| | - Bryanna Haynes
- Professional Student, Howard University College of Pharmacy, 2300 4(th) Street NW, Washington, DC 20059, USA
| | - Mary K Awuonda
- Associate Professor Clinical and Administrative Pharmacy Sciences, Howard University College of Pharmacy, 2300 4(th) Street NW, Washington, DC 20059, USA
| | - Muhammad Habib
- Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Professor, Howard University College of Pharmacy, 2300 4(th) Street NW, Washington, DC 20059, USA
| | - Youness R Karodeh
- Assistant Dean of NTDP and External Programs and Associate Professor, Howard University College of Pharmacy, 2300 4th Street NW, Washington, DC 20059, USA
| | - La'Marcus T Wingate
- Associate Professor Clinical and Administrative Pharmacy Sciences, Howard University College of Pharmacy, 2300 4(th) Street NW, Washington, DC 20059, USA.
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Hurley A, Guidry M, Majoue M, Hebert G. Critical Thinking: A Program Review of Doctor of Audiology Students. Am J Audiol 2023:1-9. [PMID: 38127841 DOI: 10.1044/2023_aja-23-00084] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2023] Open
Abstract
PURPOSE Critical thinking is a crucial component of health care, and its importance has been recognized in training medical professionals. This study reports critical thinking skills for entering doctor of audiology (AuD) students and the trajectory of the change in critical thinking skills measured 2 times over a period of 3 years. METHOD This longitudinal, descriptive, and exploratory design was implemented for programmatic review. Critical thinking skills were measured using the Health Sciences Reasoning Test (HSRT; Insight Assessment) upon entering the program and compared to measurements during the final month of academic coursework. Descriptive statistics, exploratory analyses of the HSRT scores among cohorts, the relationship of the HSRT to the graduate record examinations (GREs), and changes in the HSRT over time using a repeated measures multivariate analysis of variance were conducted. RESULTS There were no significant differences in critical thinking skills between any of the cohort years. There was a significant correlation between the GRE verbal scores and OVERALL HSRT. Improvements in critical thinking skills were found between the time the students entered the graduate program and their final academic semester. Greater gains were reported for students who initially scored below the 50th percentile on the OVERALL HSRT. CONCLUSIONS This program review showed improvement in the critical thinking skills of AuD students during their academic training program. Information regarding critical thinking skills may be useful for programs to monitor students' clinical thinking skills and possibly include clinical and didactical activities to promote critical thinking skills.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annette Hurley
- Department of Communication Disorders, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans
| | - Megan Guidry
- Department of Communication Disorders, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans
| | - Megan Majoue
- Department of Communication Disorders, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans
| | - George Hebert
- Department of Counseling, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans
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Kinney J. Revisiting the Socratic method of teaching to improve third-year pharmacy students critical thinking and advanced pharmacy practice experience readiness in a critical care elective. CURRENTS IN PHARMACY TEACHING & LEARNING 2022; 14:499-506. [PMID: 35483817 DOI: 10.1016/j.cptl.2022.03.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2021] [Revised: 01/18/2022] [Accepted: 03/03/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND One of the most important abilities we look to nurture and develop in pharmacy students is critical thinking. A critical care elective course was re-designed to optimize high-pressure situations to engage and target critical thinking, clinical reasoning, and advanced pharmacy practice experience (APPE) readiness using the Socratic method of teaching. EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITY Pharmacy students at Loma Linda University School of Pharmacy were selected and exposed to a high-pressure classroom environment with each day structured around the Socratic method of teaching. Pass/fail grades were earned daily based solely on verbal responses and discussions. The assessment tools used were: Health Sciences and Reasoning Test (HSRT) to measure critical thinking, an APPE-readiness survey of the entire third-year class for peer comparison, and a survey of the style and pedagogies used. CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITY The elective students showed noteworthy gains on their HSRT results in an eight-week critical care elective course. They also had significantly more positive responses on the APPE-readiness survey relative to their classmates and rated this teaching style higher than a typical course. Revisiting and applying the Socratic method of teaching in a high-pressure course is an effective way to engage pharmacy students, producing substantial improvements in critical thinking, clinical reasoning, and APPE readiness in a short time. Lastly, it offers one way to incorporate a validated tool to measure critical thinking in pharmacy students for institutional assessment and accreditation that is widely available, easy to use, and cost friendly.
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Affiliation(s)
- Justin Kinney
- Department of Pharmacy Practice, Loma Linda University School of Pharmacy, 24745 Stewart Street, Shryock Hall, Loma Linda, CA 92350, United States.
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Soltani A, Mafinejad MK, Tajik M, Moosapour H, Bayat T, Mohseni F. Effects of a curriculum integrating critical thinking on medical students’ critical thinking ability in Iran: a quasi-experimental study. JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL EVALUATION FOR HEALTH PROFESSIONS 2021; 18:14. [PMID: 34225414 PMCID: PMC8441095 DOI: 10.3352/jeehp.2021.18.14] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2021] [Accepted: 06/16/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE Improving physicians’ critical thinking abilities could have meaningful impacts on various aspects of routine medical practice, such as choosing treatment plans, making an accurate diagnosis, and reducing medical errors. The present study aimed to measure the effects of a curriculum integrating critical thinking on medical students’ skills at Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran. METHODS A 1-group pre-test, post-test quasi-experimental design was used to assess medical students’ critical thinking abilities as they progressed from the first week of medical school to middle of the third year of the undergraduate medical curriculum. Fifty-six participants completed the California Critical Thinking Skills Test twice from 2016 to 2019. RESULTS Medical students were asked to complete the California Critical Thinking Skills Test the week before their first educational session. The post-test was conducted 6 weeks after the 2 and half-year program. Out of 91 medical students with a mean age of 20±2.8 years who initially participated in the study, 56 completed both the pre- and post-tests. The response rate of this study was 61.5%. The analysis subscale showed the largest change. Significant changes were found in the analysis (P=0.03), evaluation (P=0.04), and inductive reasoning (P<0.0001) subscales, but not in the inference (P=0.28), and deductive reasoning (P=0.42) subscales. There was no significant difference according to gender (P=0.77). CONCLUSION The findings of this study show that a critical thinking program had a substantial effect on medical students’ analysis, inductive reasoning, and evaluation skills, but negligible effects on their inference and deductive reasoning scores.
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Affiliation(s)
- Akbar Soltani
- Endocrinology and Metabolism Research Center, Endocrinology and Metabolism Clinical Sciences Institute, Evidence Based Medicine Office, College of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Mahboobeh Khabaz Mafinejad
- Education Development Center (EDC), Department of Medical Education, Health Professions Education Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Maryam Tajik
- Students’ Scientific Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Hamideh Moosapour
- Endocrinology and Metabolism Research Center, Endocrinology and Metabolism Clinical Sciences Institute, Evidence Based Medicine Office, College of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Taha Bayat
- Students’ Scientific Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Fatemeh Mohseni
- Education Development Center (EDC), Department of Medical Education, Health Professions Education Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
- Department of Anesthesiology, Nursing School, Gerash University of Medical Sciences, Gerash, Iran
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Silberman D, Carpenter R, Takemoto JK, Coyne L. The impact of team-based learning on the critical thinking skills of pharmacy students. CURRENTS IN PHARMACY TEACHING & LEARNING 2021; 13:116-121. [PMID: 33454066 DOI: 10.1016/j.cptl.2020.09.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2020] [Revised: 08/14/2020] [Accepted: 09/21/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Critical thinking is an important ability for pharmacists, but few studies have found improvements in pharmacy student critical thinking skills as a consequence of their education. Team-based learning (TBL) is an active learning strategy that encourages students to think critically to solve problems. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of TBL on the critical thinking skills of pharmacy students. METHODS One hundred ninety students from the first two cohorts at a pharmacy school were invited to participate. The Health Science Reasoning Test (HSRT) was administered prior to the first semester and after two years of the TBL-based pharmacy curriculum. Student's t-test was used for a pairwise analysis along with Welch's t-test for unequal variances when comparing HSRT score modulation. RESULTS There was an overall increase in mean HSRT score. However, some participants (29%) with initially higher mean HSRT scores did not demonstrate an increase. Nearly all (99%) participants demonstrated improvements of one of the eight domains of critical thinking evaluated in the HSRT. This corresponded with an improvement in score of the majority of participants (n = 115). CONCLUSION This study provides evidence that TBL improves critical thinking skills. More research is needed to identify the specific aspects of TBL that influence critical thinking.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dave Silberman
- Ben and Maytee Fisch College of Pharmacy, The University of Texas at Tyler, 3900 University Boulevard, Tyler, TX 75799, United States.
| | - Rob Carpenter
- Soules College of Business, The University of Texas at Tyler, 3900 University Boulevard, Tyler, TX 75799, United States.
| | - Jody K Takemoto
- Ben and Maytee Fisch College of Pharmacy, The University of Texas at Tyler, 3900 University Boulevard, Tyler, TX 75799, United States; Department of Biomedical Education, College of Osteopathic Medicine, California Health Sciences University, 2500 Alluvial Avenue, Clovis, CA 93611, United States.
| | - Leanne Coyne
- Ben and Maytee Fisch College of Pharmacy, The University of Texas at Tyler, 3900 University Boulevard, Tyler, TX 75799, United States; Department of Biomedical Education, College of Osteopathic Medicine, California Health Sciences University, 2500 Alluvial Avenue, Clovis, CA 93611, United States.
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Cui L, Zhu Y, Qu J, Tie L, Wang Z, Qu B. Psychometric properties of the critical thinking disposition assessment test amongst medical students in China: a cross-sectional study. BMC MEDICAL EDUCATION 2021; 21:10. [PMID: 33407421 PMCID: PMC7786903 DOI: 10.1186/s12909-020-02437-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2020] [Accepted: 12/08/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Critical thinking disposition helps medical students and professionals overcome the effects of personal values and beliefs when exercising clinical judgment. The lack of effective instruments to measure critical thinking disposition in medical students has become an obstacle for training and evaluating students in undergraduate programs in China. The aim of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the CTDA test. METHODS A total of 278 students participated in this study and responded to the CTDA test. Cronbach's α coefficient, internal consistency, test-retest reliability, floor effects and ceiling effects were measured to assess the reliability of the questionnaire. Construct validity of the pre-specified three-domain structure of the CTDA was evaluated by explanatory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The convergent validity and discriminant validity were also analyzed. RESULTS Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the entire questionnaire was calculated to be 0.92, all of the domains showed acceptable internal consistency (0.81-0.86), and the test-retest reliability indicated acceptable intra-class correlation coefficients (ICCs) (0.93, p < 0.01). The EFA and the CFA demonstrated that the three-domain model fitted the data adequately. The test showed satisfactory convergent and discriminant validity. CONCLUSIONS The CTDA is a reliable and valid questionnaire to evaluate the disposition of medical students towards critical thinking in China and can reasonably be applied in critical thinking programs and medical education research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liyuan Cui
- Institute for International Health Professions Education and Research, China Medical University, Shenyang, 110122, China
- China Medical University Library, China Medical University, Shenyang, 110122, China
| | - Yaxin Zhu
- Institute for International Health Professions Education and Research, China Medical University, Shenyang, 110122, China
| | - Jinglou Qu
- Institute for International Health Professions Education and Research, China Medical University, Shenyang, 110122, China
- Department of Postgraduate Administration, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, 110122, China
| | - Liming Tie
- Institute for International Health Professions Education and Research, China Medical University, Shenyang, 110122, China
- The Third Clinical Department, China Medical University, Shenyang, 110122, China
| | - Ziqi Wang
- Institute for International Health Professions Education and Research, China Medical University, Shenyang, 110122, China
| | - Bo Qu
- Institute for International Health Professions Education and Research, China Medical University, Shenyang, 110122, China.
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