Impact of a Dedicated Education Unit Experience on Critical Thinking Development in Nursing Students

Aim: The purpose of this study was to identify the impact of the dedicated education unit (DEU) on nursing students' critical thinking ability. Background: The DEU is an innovative approach to clinical education, which uses clinical nurses with expert practice consistently in a competency-based experience. Method: Participants (intervention and control groups) completed the Nursing Executive Center's Critical Thinking Diagnostic Assessment tool before and after clinical experience. Results: Participants included 243 students with 179 non-DEU and 64 DEU students. There were significant increases in total pretest and posttest score means (P < .05) for the DEU(intervention) group. A significant change (P < .0001) was seen in critical thinking scores by category for both groups and in the intervention group on pretest and posttest scores, even after controlling for pretest scores (P < .0001). Conclusions: Results support the efficacy of the DEU model in developing critical thinking. Prior DEU studies have focused on implementation and satisfaction with the model.