The effectiveness of critical thinking instructional strategies in health professions education: a systematic review

Abstract

This review intends to reveal the current status of the instructional practices used to enhance Critical Thinking (CrT), Clinical Reasoning and Clinical Judgement (CJ) skills and dispositions in Health Sciences Higher Education programmes. After a three-step filtering process, 28 empirical studies on the effectiveness of the instructional strategies were analysed, following PICOS methodology. The analysis tackled the type of strategy, methods and outcomes, the research design, and assessment tools used. Diverse instructional designs, different in length, were used with variable success when compared with traditional lecturing. Several limitations were found, such as insufficient information regarding the intervention design and the alignment between learning outcomes and the assessment instruments. Due to the variability in sample sizes and research designs, it is difficult to conclude on the effectiveness of particular instructional strategies. Researchers ought to recognize the concerns herein discussed when designing, implementing and assessing future interventions.