Clinical Simulation and Dimensions of Critical Thinking in Medical Students from a Private University

Abstract

Introduction: Critical thinking is an essential skill in a general practitioner. For its part, clinical simulation is an innovative strategy that proposes the development of this competence, which is why its implementation is increasingly frequent at the undergraduate level of medical schools. Objective: Comparing the self-perception of critical thinking between a group of medical students who participated and one who did not participate in clinical simulation. Method: Observational, cross-sectional, prospective study. The population was made up of sixth and seventh year students of the medical career of the 2018-2019 school year. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for the purposes of the study. Results: 62 university students participated, of which 45.2% were female and 54.8% male. There was no significant difference in the self-perception of critical thinking between the two groups (p. > 0.05). Conclusions: In this study, the implementation of clinical simulation showed no difference in self-perceptions of critical thinking between the compared groups.