Decision-making styles, anxiety levels, and critical thinking levels of nurses

AimThis research was carried out so as to reveal the relationships between the anxiety state of nurses, their critical thinking disposition, and decision-making strategies. MethodsSurvey forms and scales that were related to demographic attributes, anxiety, critical thinking and decision-making were used in this research. The sampling was formed with 326 nurses who were selected by using the random sampling method. The data were collected between November, 2014 and January, 2015 via a Descriptive Information Form, the California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and Decision-Making Strategies Scale. ResultsOf the nurses, 91.4% were discovered to have low critical thinking disposition levels. The nurses' scores in analytics, open-mindedness, and curiosity were higher, compared to the other categories. As for decision-making, independent decision-making was the most commonly used strategy. There was a poor positive relationship between the age of the nurses and their points of independent decision-making and intuitive decision-making. It was detected that age and open-mindedness affected the total points of independent decision-making, intuitive decision-making, and rational decision-making. ConclusionThe critical thinking training of nurses affects their rational decision-making levels and their age affects independent, intuitive, and rational decision-making. Systematicity affects only indecision in a negative way, whereas open-mindedness negatively affects intuitive decision-making, rational decision-making, and indecision. Anxiety negatively affects independent decision-making, whereas it affects indecision strategy positively. The working style of nurses does not affect their decision-making strategies. Indecision strategy is negatively predicted by open-mindedness, systematicity, and self-confidence and it is positively predicted by anxiety.