Development of critical thinking skills of undergraduate students throughout the 4 years of nursing degree at a public university in Spain: a descriptive study

ObjectiveTo analyse the critical thinking skills of students enrolled in the four academic years of the nursing degree at a public university belonging to the European Higher Education Area.DesignCross-sectional, quantitative, descriptive study. Using the Critical Thinking Questionnaire to analyse the critical thinking skills in their substantive and dialogic dimension.SettingFaculty of Nursing, Valladolid Public University in Spain, belonging to the European Higher Education Area.ParticipantsThe sample consisted of 215 first-year, second-year, third-year and fourth-year undergraduate nursing students.Main outcomesThe students of the four academic years were positively disposed towards critical thinking. The students of the final courses obtained higher average scores.ResultsThe study sample was 215 students, 19.1% men/80.9% women. The average score in the substantive dimension (3.81±0.53 points) was higher than that in the dialogic dimension (3.48±0.51 points) (p