Factors Influencing Problem Solving Abilities of Freshmen Nursing Students / 간호행정학회지

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate factors which influence freshmen nursing students' problem solving abilities. METHOD: The data were collected from 119 students by means of self-reported questionnaires measuring problem solving abilities, critical thinking disposition, and self-directed learning, on March 7th and 11th, 2010. RESULT: For problem solving ability categories, the level of problem discovery was the highest followed by solution plan, problem definition, solution evaluation and solution implementation. The influencing factors on problem solving abilities of nursing students were critical thinking disposition, self-directed learning and gender. CONCLUSION: Using the results of this study as a foundation, nursing education curriculum should be comprised of critical thinking skills and self-directed skills for the improvement of nursing students' problem solving abilities. It is also recommended that further studies be conducted in order to investigate comprehensive curriculum designs that allow for maximum accumulation of these proficiencies.