Introduction

The need for evidence-based care practices, patient-centered care, patient satisfaction, and the increasing issues in staff shifting has made healthcare delivery more demanding and complex. Therefore, critical thinking (CT) has gained more significance in nursing competency and high performance (Pitt et al., 2015). For instance, it is important when improving patients care outcomes by enhancing the ability of nurses to perform evidence-based care practice. Furthermore, it is also a requirement when improving the care environment, particularly by nursing managers. Hence, it should be introduced early in nursing pedagogy to allow for its development through practice and experience.

The aspect of critical thinking is a complex and multi-dimensional cognitive process that largely depends on ambiguity tolerance and reflective thinking in nursing care decision-making. It includes inquisitiveness, open-mindedness, creative thinking, attitude, skills, knowledge, and any other components that entail nursing care processes and problem-solving approaches. This paper examines the issues associated with assessing and evaluating critical thinking in nursing continuing education.