respiratory system critical thinking questions

Critical Thinking Questions

• Their sac-like structure increases their surface area.
• Their direct connection to the bronchi maximizes their access to air.
• They actively transport the gases between the air and blood.
• They are spheres that fully fill with blood, which will come in contact with air.
• The epiglottis deflects impurities out of the trachea and into the esophagus, while the nasal cavity warms the air.
• Hair and mucus in the nose and trachea catch impurities, while the nasal cavity warms the air.
• Saliva in the mouth and hair in the trachea catch impurities, while the pharynx warms the air.
• The closed-off compartments of the larynx trap impurities in the air and warm the air.
• trachea, larynx, bronchi, and bronchioles
• larynx, trachea, bronchi, and bronchioles
• bronchioles, bronchi, trachea, and larynx
• bronchioles, trachea, bronchi, and larynx
• the forced expiratory volume in one second in relation to the total forced vital capacity; lung fibrosis causes the lungs to decrease in size
• the functional expiratory volume in one second in relation to the total functional vital capacity; lung fibrosis causes the lungs to decrease in size
• the functional expiratory volume in one second in relation to the total functional vital capacity; lung fibrosis causes the lungs to become less pliable
• the forced expiratory volume in one second in relation to the total forced vital capacity; lung fibrosis causes the lungs to become less pliable
• higher in the blood than in the air and higher in the blood than in the body tissues
• lower in the blood than in the air and higher in the blood than in the body tissues
• higher in the blood than in the air and lower in the blood than in the body tissues
• lower in the blood than in the air and lower in the blood than in the body tissues
• This ratio increases when there is decreased resistance in the lung, as when lung quality is improved through medical treatment. Obstructive lung disease would decrease the ratio as the lungs become stiff and less pliable.
• Obstructive lung disease would increase this ratio as the lungs become stiff and less pliable. Restrictive lung disease would decrease this ratio, as there is increased resistance in the lung.
• Restrictive lung disease would increase this ratio as the lungs become stiff and less pliable. Medical treatment of damaged lungs decreases this ratio, as there is increased resistance in the lung.
• This ratio increases as the lungs become stiff and less pliable, as with obstructive lung disease. An improvement in condition to restrictive lung disease decreases the ratio, when there is increased resistance in the lung.
• Inhalation in humans and other mammals involves the openings called spiracles, which connect to the tubular network to allow oxygen to pass into the body.
• Inhalation in humans and other mammals involves direct diffusion across the outer membrane to meet oxygen requirements. Gases can diffuse quickly through direct diffusion.
• Inhalation in humans and other mammals involve contracting the thoracic cavity by creating negative pressure in the lungs, which causes air to diffuse into the lungs.
• Inhalation in humans and other mammals involves expanding the thoracic cavity by creating negative pressure in the lungs, which causes air to diffuse into the lungs.

The graphs show the pressure and volume changes in normal rabbits, and rabbits whose lung surfactant was removed.

What is the effect of removing the surfactant from the lungs?

• The lungs inflate to same volume, but their highest pressure is lower.
• When inflated, the lungs have the same pressure, but their volume is lower.
• When inflated, the lungs have both lower pressure and lower volume.
• The lungs can inflate to the same volume and pressure as before.

The image shows the pressures in different areas of the lung for a person that is standing upright.

Which part of the lung has the highest air ventilation (V) and blood perfusion (Q) ratio (V/Q)?

• The uppermost part of the lung.
• The upper middle part of the lung.
• The lower middle part of the lung.
• The lowermost part of the lung.
• At that concentration, oxygen will be transported in the body at a high rate by dissolving in blood. Oxygen has more affinity for hemoglobin than carbon dioxide.
• At that concentration, oxygen will displace the carbon monoxide from the hemoglobin. Oxygen has more affinity for hemoglobin than carbon dioxide.
• At that concentration, oxygen will displace the carbon monoxide from the hemoglobin. Carbon dioxide has more affinity for hemoglobin than oxygen.
• At that concentration, oxygen will be transported in the body at a high rate by dissolving in blood. Carbon dioxide has more affinity for hemoglobin than oxygen.
• Carbon dioxide would be hydrolyzed into carbonic acid or bicarbonate. The maximum amount of carbon dioxide would be transported in the blood away from the tissues.
• Carbon dioxide would not be hydrolyzed into carbonic acid or bicarbonate. The maximum amount of carbon dioxide would be transported in the blood away from the tissues.
• Oxygen would not be hydrolyzed into carbonic acid or bicarbonate. Only 50 percent of carbon dioxide would be transported in the blood away from the tissues.
• Carbon dioxide would not be hydrolyzed into carbonic acid or bicarbonate. Only 15 percent of carbon dioxide would be transported in the blood away from the tissues.
• It is a genetic disease in which red blood cells are sickle-shaped, reducing oxygen perfusion into the blood.
• It is a genetic disease in which red blood cells are sickle-shaped, increasing oxygen perfusion into the blood.
• It is a deficiency disease in which red blood cells are sickle-shaped, reducing oxygen perfusion into the blood.
• It is a deficiency disease in which red blood cells are sickle-shaped, increasing oxygen perfusion into the blood.

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Critical Thinking Questions

CRITICAL THINKING QUESTIONS

• Describe the three regions of the pharynx and their functions.
• If a person sustains an injury to the epiglottis, what would be the physiological result?
• Compare and contrast the conducting and respiratory zones.
• Compare and contrast the right and left lungs.
• Why are the pleurae not damaged during normal breathing?
• Describe what is meant by the term “lung compliance.”
• Outline the steps involved in quiet breathing.
• What is respiratory rate and how is it controlled?
• Compare and contrast Dalton’s law and Henry’s law.
• A smoker develops damage to several alveoli that then can no longer function. How does this affect gas exchange?
• Describe the relationship between the partial pressure of oxygen and the binding of oxygen to hemoglobin.
• Describe three ways in which carbon dioxide can be transported.
• Describe the neural factors involved in increasing ventilation during exercise.
• What is the major mechanism that results in acclimatization?

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Respiratory System NCLEX Practice Questions and Reviewer (220 Questions)

Hello and welcome to your NCLEX reviewer and practice questions quiz for respiratory system disorders! This nursing test bank will test your competence in managing patients with respiratory disorders such as pneumonia , COPD , pleural effusion, asthma , and more. This quiz aims to help student nurses to grasp and master the concepts of respiratory system disorders.

Respiratory System Disorders NCLEX Nursing Test Bank

Here are the NCLEX practice questions for respiratory system disorders. This nursing test bank set includes 220 NCLEX-style practice questions that cover nursing care management of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma , pneumonia , pleural effusion, and other respiratory system disorders. Use these questions to help you review for the respiratory system disorders and as an alternative to Quizlet.

All questions on this set are updated to give you the most challenging questions, along with insightful rationales to reinforce learning .

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• Practice Exams : Engage with our Practice Exams to hone your skills in a supportive, low-pressure environment. These exams provide immediate feedback and explanations, helping you grasp core concepts, identify improvement areas, and build confidence in your knowledge and abilities.
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• For Challenge Exams, click on the “Start Quiz” button to start the quiz.
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• Learn from the rationales : After each quiz, click on the “View Questions” button to understand the explanation for each answer.
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Saunders Comprehensive Review for the NCLEX-RN Saunders Comprehensive Review for the NCLEX-RN Examination is often referred to as the best nursing exam review book ever. More than 5,700 practice questions are available in the text. Detailed test-taking strategies are provided for each question, with hints for analyzing and uncovering the correct answer option.

Strategies for Student Success on the Next Generation NCLEX® (NGN) Test Items Next Generation NCLEX®-style practice questions of all types are illustrated through stand-alone case studies and unfolding case studies. NCSBN Clinical Judgment Measurement Model (NCJMM) is included throughout with case scenarios that integrate the six clinical judgment cognitive skills.

Saunders Q & A Review for the NCLEX-RN® Examination This edition contains over 6,000 practice questions with each question containing a test-taking strategy and justifications for correct and incorrect answers to enhance review. Questions are organized according to the most recent NCLEX-RN test blueprint Client Needs and Integrated Processes. Questions are written at higher cognitive levels (applying, analyzing, synthesizing, evaluating, and creating) than those on the test itself.

NCLEX-RN Prep Plus by Kaplan The NCLEX-RN Prep Plus from Kaplan employs expert critical thinking techniques and targeted sample questions. This edition identifies seven types of NGN questions and explains in detail how to approach and answer each type. In addition, it provides 10 critical thinking pathways for analyzing exam questions.

Illustrated Study Guide for the NCLEX-RN® Exam The 10th edition of the Illustrated Study Guide for the NCLEX-RN Exam, 10th Edition. This study guide gives you a robust, visual, less-intimidating way to remember key facts. 2,500 review questions are now included on the Evolve companion website. 25 additional illustrations and mnemonics make the book more appealing than ever.

NCLEX RN Examination Prep Flashcards (2023 Edition) NCLEX RN Exam Review FlashCards Study Guide with Practice Test Questions [Full-Color Cards] from Test Prep Books. These flashcards are ready for use, allowing you to begin studying immediately. Each flash card is color-coded for easy subject identification.

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• Nursing Test Bank: Free Practice Questions UPDATED ! Our most comprehenisve and updated nursing test bank that includes over 3,500 practice questions covering a wide range of nursing topics that are absolutely free!
• NCLEX Questions Nursing Test Bank and Review UPDATED! Over 1,000+ comprehensive NCLEX practice questions covering different nursing topics. We’ve made a significant effort to provide you with the most challenging questions along with insightful rationales for each question to reinforce learning.

17 thoughts on “Respiratory System NCLEX Practice Questions and Reviewer (220 Questions)”

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26.11: Critical Thinking Questions

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Plasma contains more sodium than chloride. How can this be if individual ions of sodium and chloride exactly balance each other out, and plasma is electrically neutral?

How is fluid moved from compartment to compartment?

Describe the effect of ADH on renal collecting tubules.

Why is it important for the amount of water intake to equal the amount of water output?

Explain how the CO 2 generated by cells and exhaled in the lungs is carried as bicarbonate in the blood.

How can one have an imbalance in a substance, but not actually have elevated or deficient levels of that substance in the body?

Describe the conservation of bicarbonate ions in the renal system.

Describe the control of blood carbonic acid levels through the respiratory system.

Case Study: Brooks is a 64-year-old admitted to the emergency room for asthma. Their laboratory results are as follows: pH 7.31, pCO 2 higher than normal, and total HCO 3 – also higher than normal. Classify their acid-base balance as acidosis or alkalosis, and as metabolic or respiratory. Is there evidence of compensation? Propose the mechanism by which asthma contributed to the lab results seen.

Case Study: Kim is a 38-year-old woman admitted to the hospital for bulimia. Her laboratory results are as follows: pH 7.48, pCO 2 in the normal range, and total HCO 3 – higher than normal. Classify her acid-base balance as acidosis or alkalosis, and as metabolic or respiratory. Is there evidence of compensation? Propose the mechanism by which bulimia contributed to the lab results seen.

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7.2.10: Critical Thinking Questions

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How does the polygastric digestive system aid in digesting roughage?

How do birds digest their food in the absence of teeth?

What is the role of the accessory organs in digestion?

Explain how the villi and microvilli aid in absorption.

Name two components of the digestive system that perform mechanical digestion. Describe how mechanical digestion contributes to acquiring nutrients from food.

What are essential nutrients?

What is the role of minerals in maintaining good health?

Discuss why obesity is a growing epidemic.

There are several nations where malnourishment is a common occurrence. What may be some of the health challenges posed by malnutrition?

Generally describe how a piece of bread can power your legs as you walk up a flight of stairs.

In the 1990s fat-free foods became popular among people trying to lose weight. However, many dieticians now conclude that the fat-free trend made people less healthy and heavier. Describe how this could occur.

Explain why some dietary lipid is a necessary part of a balanced diet.

The gut microbiome (the bacterial colonies in the intestines) have become a popular area of study in biomedical research. How could varying gut microbiomes impact a person’s nutrition?

Many mammals become ill if they drink milk as adults even though they could consume it as babies. What causes this digestive issue?

Describe how hormones regulate digestion.

Describe one or more scenarios where loss of hormonal regulation of digestion can lead to diseases.

A scientist is studying a model that has a mutation in the receptor for somatostatin that prevents hormone binding. How would this mutation affect the structure and function of the digestive system?

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Critical-Thinking Ability in Respiratory Care Students and Its Correlation With Age, Educational Background, and Performance on National Board Examinations

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BACKGROUND: Critical thinking is an important characteristic to develop in respiratory care students.

METHODS: We used the short-form Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal instrument to measure critical-thinking ability in 55 senior respiratory care students in a baccalaureate respiratory care program. We calculated the Pearson correlation coefficient to assess the relationships between critical-thinking score, age, and student performance on the clinical-simulation component of the national respiratory care boards examination. We used chi-square analysis to assess the association between critical-thinking score and educational background.

RESULTS: There was no significant relationship between critical-thinking score and age, or between critical-thinking score and student performance on the clinical-simulation component. There was a significant ( P = .04) positive association between a strong science-course background and critical-thinking score, which might be useful in predicting a student's ability to perform in areas where critical thinking is of paramount importance, such as clinical competencies, and to guide candidate-selection for respiratory care programs.

• critical thinking
• Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal
• Introduction

The importance of critical thinking is often mentioned in educational and professional presentations and endorsed in the literature. Given the global explosion of knowledge, the suggestion by Facione and Facione 1 that education should not focus on imparting out-of-date data, but must instead foster critical-thinking skills, seems self evident.

Critical thinking has been defined as the “ process of evaluating propositions or hypotheses and making judgments about them on the basis of well supported evidence .” 2 It is difficult to deny but challenging to implement the concept proposed by Barnett, 3 that critical thinking is a process encompassing self-reflection and action as the “center” of the education experience.

Critical thinking has been used as a single predictor of board examination performance in healthcare professions and has been proposed as a measure of teaching effectiveness. 4 The short-form Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal (WGCTA-S) has been widely used in respiratory and nursing research. 5 – 10

The complexity of modern healthcare calls for clinicians to make intricate decisions that impact patients' quality of life and survival. Thus, healthcare professionals must be expert at gathering pertinent patient information, processing that information, and then making good patient-care decisions. McPeck described critical thinking as the application of discipline-specific knowledge and skills to solve real-life problems. 11

There has been a growing concern among many employers in the healthcare industry that new recruits lack critical-thinking ability. 12 In healthcare, a critical thinker can think through complex, multifaceted problems, anticipate and recognize needs and potential and actual complications, and expertly communicate with the rest of the healthcare team. 13 The critical thinker possesses the decision-making skills that translate to better patient care.

While good decision-making skills are believed to be strongly tied to critical thinking in respiratory care students and respiratory therapists, the results of studies that attempted to test correlation between critical thinking and decision-making skills have been conflicting. 5 , 6 , 14 – 18 There are also very limited data available that quantifies or describes specific predictors of adequate critical-thinking skills within the respiratory care discipline.

We designed this study to identify factors that predict critical-thinking ability in respiratory care students in a baccalaureate respiratory care program, and to determine if critical-thinking scores predict student performance on the clinical-simulation component of the national respiratory care boards examination. This knowledge could help drive future research on admission criteria for applicants to respiratory care programs, and on senior respiratory care students' readiness for the national boards.

We studied 3 questions:

Is age of senior respiratory care students correlated with exiting WGCTA-S score?

Do students with a stronger science-course background have more advanced critical-thinking skills?

Is WGCTA-S score correlated with student performance on the clinical-simulation component of the National Board for Respiratory Care (NBRC) examination?

The subject pool consisted of 60 senior students, in 3 cohorts (the graduating classes of 2004, 2005, and 2006), completing a bachelor of science degree in respiratory care at an academic health-science center in the southwestern United States. We excluded 5 subjects from the analysis because of incomplete records at the time of administering the WGCTA-S, resulting in an effective n of 55.

The WGCTA-S has 40 multiple-choice items, with item options ranging from 2 to 5. The WGCTA-S poses 5 scenarios, and the test-taker is asked to judge the potential conclusions to the presented data. The scenarios provide scores (ranging from 0 to 40) for 5 subtests:

Inference: discriminating among degrees of truth or falsity of inference drawn from given data

Recognition of assumptions: recognizing unstated assumptions or presuppositions in given statements or assertions

Deductions: determining whether certain conclusions necessarily follow from information in given statements or premises

Interpretation: weighing evidence and deciding if generalizations or conclusions based on the given data are warranted

Evaluation of arguments: distinguishing between arguments that are strong and relevant and those that are weak or irrelevant to a particular question at issue 19

Our institutional review board approved this study and deemed it exempt on the stipulation that we receive only de-identified data. Personal data such as age is part of the students' permanent files. All the test data were collected by the respiratory care faculty as part of program evaluation. Academic information such as grade point average (GPA) and past course work was obtained from student records by the office administrator.

During the spring semester of their senior year, students took the WGCTA-S, then the NBRC clinical-simulation examination. The WGCTA-S was proctored in a classroom setting, with no time limit. Most subjects completed the WGCTA-S in less than 40 min.

All subject data were labeled by number only (students 1–55) and were provided to us in an electronic spreadsheet (Excel, Microsoft, Redmond, Washington). The WGCTA-S and NBRC clinical-simulation examination results and the students' transcripts were provided in paper form, with only the number as an identifier. Science-course background was determined from each transcript by identifying course designations for biology, chemistry, biochemistry, anatomy, physiology, physics, and microbiology that were in addition to the program prerequisite science courses. The prerequisite science courses are anatomy and physiology I and II with labs, general chemistry with lab, general physics with lab, and microbiology with lab. Subjects were considered to have a strong science-course background if they had completed ≥ 10 credits in science. Twenty-four subjects (44%) had a strong science-course background. Twenty-two subjects (40%) had less than 10 science credit hours. Nine subjects (16%) had transfer credits from other schools that listed course numbers but failed to provide a course designation, which made it impossible to determine the specific course content. Therefore, only 46 subjects were included in our analysis of the relationship between science-course background and critical-thinking score.

We collected all the data in a spreadsheet (Excel, Microsoft, Redmond, Washington), then imported it into statistics software (SPSS, SPSS, Chicago, Illinois) and calculated descriptive statistics on the WGCTA-S scores. We used Pearson/Spearman correlation to assess the relationship between critical thinking and student age, and between critical thinking and clinical-simulation examination scores. We used chi-square analysis to assess the correlation between critical thinking and educational background. A P of < .05 was considered statistically significant.

Age, WGCTA-S scores, and NBRC clinical-simulation examination results were available for 55 students (mean ± SD age 26.4 ± 3.9 y, range 21–41 y). There was no significant relationship between age and critical-thinking ability. The group's mean ± SD prerequisite GPA was 3.20 ± 0.38. Prerequisites are the courses required to obtain a bachelor of science degree in respiratory care in Texas. The group's mean ± SD overall GPA for all course work was 2.91 ± 0.45 (range 1.96–4.00).

Table 1 shows the WGCTA-S scores. The subjects answered at least 50% of the items correctly on all the subsets. Their scores were higher in the evaluation of arguments (73%), deduction (61%), and recognition of assumptions (59%) subsets than in the inference (51%) and interpretation (50%) subsets.

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Short-Form Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal Scores*

The students took the NBRC clinical-simulation examination within 6 months of the WGCTA-S. The passing score for the clinical-simulation examination is based on a “minimal passing level” established by the NBRC. 20 The candidate must pass the information-gathering and decision-making sections on the same clinical-simulation examination. Table 2 shows the scores from the information-gathering and decision-making sections. There were no significant relationships between age and critical-thinking score ( P = .66), critical thinking and information-gathering score ( P = .61), or critical thinking and decision-making score ( P = .56).

Scores on the Clinical-Simulation Component of the National Board for Respiratory Care Examination*

We used chi-square analysis to assess the association between a strong science-course background and critical-thinking ability in 46 subjects. We assigned the subjects into 2 groups: above-average critical-thinking ability, and below-average critical-thinking ability. Since no normative data are available for respiratory care students, it seemed reasonable to evaluate the data with the mean WGCTA-S score of this subject pool (23.7) as the break point for strong versus weaker critical thinking. Chi-square analysis revealed a significant relationship between strong science-course background and critical-thinking score: the chi-square value is 4.22 ( P = .04). The students with above-average critical-thinking were 4.3 times more likely to have a strong science background.

The lack of a positive correlation between the WGCTA-S score and the NBRC decision-making and information-gathering scores in our findings is consistent with the results from Johnson and Van Scoder. 21 Even at the master's level, the modest gains sometimes obtained in critical-thinking score between starting and finishing the program has led to questioning of the value of this score as a predictor of overall performance on national boards. 22

In a study by Mishoe et al, 23 the WGCTA forms A and B and the Clinical Simulation Self-Assessment Examination were administered to 60 students prior to graduation from their bachelor of science program in respiratory therapy. They found a significant correlation (r = 0.34) between the WGCTA and decision-making scores, and between GPA and WGCTA score (r = 0.45), and between GPA and decision-making (r = 0.43). However, though significant, the correlation was weak and was based on the WGCTA forms A and B, which contain a total of 80 items. Hill compared decision-making scores from the Clinical Simulation Self-Assessment Examination and the WGCTA-S of 143 respiratory care students graduating from 10 programs, and found a significant but weak correlation between critical thinking and decision-making (r = 0.32). 5 In 24 first-year respiratory care students, Shelledy et al found that critical thinking had a weak but significant correlation to decision-making performance on a written clinical-simulation examination (r = 0.49), and concluded that critical thinking may have more impact on a student's ability to gain from instruction and practice than the decision-making score itself. 24 The 3 studies mentioned above all examined critical thinking and Clinical Simulation Self-Assessment Examination results. This was in contrast to our study, in which we considered the relationship of critical thinking to performance on the NBRC's clinical-simulation component. This difference in study design may partially explain the difference in findings.

We found a significant association between a strong science-course background and critical-thinking score. Our subjects who had a strong science-course background had completed 60 university credit hours in addition to the core requirements, compared to an average of 38 credit hours in the subjects with ≤ 10 credit hours in science courses. Students with high grades tend to score better on the WGCTA-S. 25 We did not study the correlation between science-course GPA and critical-thinking score. This raises an important question: is a strong science-course GPA (regardless of the number of science credit hours), a better predictor of critical-thinking score?

At first glance the positive correlation that we found between science and critical-thinking score appears to be in contrast with previous studies. 26 – 32 While Tsui, 33 Brigham, 34 and McCleish 35 found a positive correlation between science courses and critical thinking, Brigham 34 and McCleish 35 essentially found that more college credits was associated with a higher critical-thinking score regardless of course work studied, thus including science courses. Tsui 33 found a significant positive association ( P < .01) between science and critical thinking, but it was not as strong as that between humanities, honors, and interdisciplinary courses and critical thinking ( P < .001). Those studies support the theory that critical-thinking ability is proportional to the individual's educational background.

Whereas Hill 5 and others 34 – 39 found a significant association between age and critical thinking, we found no significant correlation between age and critical-thinking score, which is consistent with other studies of health-sciences students. 40 – 45 This suggests that critical thinking does not improve simply with age, and that specific academic and professional experiences are needed to develop and improve critical thinking in most individuals. 46

Shin et al 47 measured critical-thinking in associate, baccalaureate, and bachelor of nursing science senior students and found a negative correlation between age and critical thinking. Their finding was supported by previous studies in nursing. 26 , 47

Limitations

Our sample size was small ( n = 55), only senior students were enrolled, and the sample was from only one baccalaureate program, so our results may not be generalizable to junior and senior respiratory care students or students in other programs. In addition, data available from studies in respiratory care are scarce, which limits the validity and the extrapolation of our findings.

There is conflicting evidence regarding whether the curriculum can improve health-professions students critical-thinking skills enough to improve WGCTA scores. 48 McMillan 49 and Bauwens et al 50 found that the WGCTA was not sensitive to changes in critical thinking of students in professional settings, because it is based on situations in daily life. Recent data indicate that the guessing rate could be as high as 38% with the original WGCTA, and potentially higher with the short-form WGCTA. 51 New critical-thinking evaluation tools with better precision may change the results of future studies on the variables considered in our study. The lack of an association between critical-thinking score and clinical-simulation examination score in our study, and the relatively poor correlation (although statistically significant) in some other studies in respiratory care relating to the Clinical Simulation Self-Assessment Examination may suggest that the WGCTA is useful in measuring critical-thinking skills of the general population but not necessarily the critical-thinking ability of healthcare-professions students. 52

• Conclusions

While there was no correlation between critical-thinking score and performance on the clinical-simulation examination, the significant association between strong science-course background and critical-thinking scores may be useful in predicting a student's ability to perform in areas where critical thinking is of paramount importance, such as clinical competence and response under pressure. When a larger pool of qualified candidates is present, assessing applicants' critical-thinking ability might also be used as a factor in candidate selection for respiratory care programs. The WGCTA, although considered the standard test for critical-thinking ability, may not be the best way to measure critical-thinking ability in healthcare professionals.

• Correspondence: Richard B Wettstein MMEd RRT, Department of Respiratory Care, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, 7703 Floyd Curl Drive, San Antonio TX 78229. E-mail: wettstein{at}uthscsa.edu .

↵ † Deceased

The authors have disclosed no conflicts of interest.

Richard B Wettstein MMEd RRT presented a version of this paper at the 55th International Respiratory Congress of the American Association for Respiratory Care, held December 5–8, 2009, in San Antonio, Texas.

See the Related Editorial on Page 364

• Copyright © 2011 by Daedalus Enterprises Inc.
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