Effect of Curriculum Duration and Entry Qualification on the Development of Bachelor Nurse Students’ Critical Thinking Competence in the Centre Region of Cameroon
Keywords:
Critical Thinking, Programme Duration, Entry QualificationAbstract
The criticality of Critical Thinking in the profession of nurse is proved in every relevant literature. It is an imperative tool that nurses need to master so that they can provide quality care. But a critical analysis of bachelor nursing curricula revealed that all over the world bachelor degree programmes vary in their duration and sometimes in their entry qualification. The duration varies from two semesters to four years. Entry qualification varies from High School Diploma to Diploma in Nursing. We were then able to ask ourselves what is the effect of this variation on the development of nurse student critical thinking, especially in the Centre Region of Cameroon? This pushed us to state two objectives for this article: To find out whether there is any effect of entry qualification on students’ Critical Thinking competence in bachelor degree curricula in nursing schools in the Centre Region of Cameroon; To find out whether there is any effect of the programme duration on students’ Critical Thinking competence in bachelor degree curricula in nursing schools in the Centre Region of Cameroon. To reach these objectives, a cross-sectional survey was used. A convenient sample of 229 students was selected comprising 102 holders of High School Diploma and 127 holders of Diploma in Nursing. A critical thinking test made up of six open-ended questions was used for data collection. Descriptive and inferential statistical analysis were used base on independent T-test. Research ethical principles were rigorously observed. Findings revealed that, in nursing schools in the Centre Region of Cameroon, students with Diplomas in nursing (m = 7.37) exhibited better Critical Thinking skills than those with Baccalauréat (m = 5.56). and that, students who were offered a more extended programme (m=8.10) exhibited better Critical Thinking skills than those in who were offered a shorter programme duration (m=5.87). These findings confirmed the results of many other studies on similar topics.
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