The Canadian Nurses Association

The Canadian Nurses Association

critical thinking is defined as a purposeful self regulatory judgment by( facione 1990) and as purposeful, goal directed thinking by (Halpern 1989) just to mention a few. In the field of nursing critical thinking is paramount, since at any given moment nurses are faced with complex situations that requires accurate judgment calls. Evidence based practice is defined as a continuous interactive process involving the precise, careful, thorough and well thought-out consideration of the best available evidence to provide care.” As is evident from these pragmatic definitions, the focus is primarily on the best ways to find and apply research evidence by (The Canadian Nurses Association). Critical thinking and evidence based practice goes hand in hand to promote better patient outcome and the ability to treat patients and their families on an individual basis (Youngblut & Brooten, 2001}. Clinicians chose the field to care for others and to do so effectively and appropriately they must stay up to date with current research and information and by furthering their education.