Resumen

AGUILERA SERRANO, Yudith; ZUBIZARRETA ESTEVEZ, Magdalena  y  CASTILLO MAYEDO, Juan A.. Verification of critical thinking abilities in Nursing Baccalaureate students. Educ Med Super [online]. 2006, vol.20, n.3. ISSN 0864-2141.

Critical thinking in nursing supposes a deliberate thinking directed to an objective. It pursues to give criteria based on evidences (suppositions), principles of science, and scientific methods. Taking into account the importance of this topic for the development of the profession, a qualitative research was conducted to verify the critical thinking abilities, according to those described by Cesar Coll, of the 3 rd -year students of the day regular course of Nursing Baccalaureate, in Havana City. The universe and the sample coincided and it consisted of 41 students. They answered a questionnaire validated by Erika Caballero from Chile. The qualitative data were analyzed starting from logical procedures such as induction, deduction, abstraction, and their generalization. We conclude that it is necessary to keep on working on the development of the abilities related to information assimilation and retention, making special emphasis on the importance of how to study, read, and listen to attain a better understanding, to teach to reason, remember, and codify what has been learnt to facilitate the solution of the problems appearing in the daily practice.

Palabras clave : Critical thinking; intellectual abilities; Nursing Baccalaureate..