Developing critical thinking in nursing education: integrative review

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.61799/2216-0388.1969

Keywords:

nursing education, educational strategies, higher education, critical thinking

Abstract

Nursing education raises the need for educational transformations to achieve higher levels of critical thinking skills among nurses, which are expressed in decision-making, clinical judgment, leadership, and intervention in healthcare management in today's complex social environments, in addition to the benefits for students' personal, professional, and social lives. Objective: To identify the teaching strategies used to develop critical thinking in undergraduate nursing education. Methodology: A secondary research study was conducted, using an integrative review, which included 38 articles. The search was conducted in the following databases: PubMed, Science Direct, Scopus, and LILACS, applying filters for open access to full text, published between 2020-2025, in English, Spanish, and Portuguese. The search and selection of articles followed the recommendations of the PRISMA 2020 statement, and the thematic analysis followed the methodology proposed by Dhollande et al. Results: Of the 38 articles, eleven were literature reviews, twenty were quantitative studies, and seven were qualitative studies, conducted mainly in Asian countries, followed by Europe and Latin America. Three themes emerged from the thematic analysis: Seeking ways to develop critical thinking in nursing students; Factors involved in teaching critical thinking to nursing students; and Measuring critical thinking: Diagnosis of the state or evaluation of the process. Conclusion: There is evidence of teaching strategies with positive effects on critical thinking skills in nursing students; however, programs need to carry out processes of conceptualization, reflection, and faculty training on critical thinking so that the planning and implementation of strategies are cross-cutting in the curriculum.

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Author Biographies

  • Olga Marina Vega Angarita, Universidad Francisco de Paula Santander, Cúcuta, Colombia.

    Enfermera. Magister en Enfermeria. Doctora en Educación. Profesora  Titular Universidad Francisco De Paula Santander. Investigador Senior Grupo de Investigación Cuidado de la Salud- GINCUS

  • Gloria Esperanza Zambrano Plata, Universidad Francisco de Paula Santander, Cúcuta, Colombia.

    Enfermera. Magister en Enfermería. Doctora en Educación. Profesora Asociada Universidad Francisco de Paula Santander. 

  • Mabel Osnaya Moreno, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos, Cuernavaca, México.

    Psicóloga. Doctora en Educación. Profesora Investigador Asociado Tiempo Completo. Instituto  de Ciencias de la Educación, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos. Cuernavaca, México.

  • Héctor Santos Nava, Colegio de Bachilleres del Estado de Morelos, México.

    Licenciado en Educación. Doctor en Educación.  Post Doctorado en Educación ( en curso), Instituto de Ciencias de la Educación. Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos, Cuernavaca, México.

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2026-05-01

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Vol. 16 No. 35 (2026)

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[1]
Gonzalez Escobar, D.S. et al. 2026. Developing critical thinking in nursing education: integrative review. Mundo FESC Journal. 16, 35 (May 2026). DOI:https://doi.org/10.61799/2216-0388.1969.

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