Through collaboration University of Lethbridge professors Lance Grigg (Education) and Monique Sedgwick (Health Sciences) are gaining fresh insights into their fields.
It began when Sedgwick noted that while nursing graduates have knowledge of specific practices (pediatrics, palliative care, medical-surgical, etc.) they find it challenging to rapidly adjust their thinking from one to the other in real world settings.
“I became aware of Dr. Grigg’s work with critical thinking,” she says, “and our collaboration began.”
In the Faculty of Health Sciences Simulation Health Centre Grigg, Sedgwick, and a team of researchers created a thirty-minute scenario during which nursing students treated a variety of patients. Researchers then led the nurses through an examination of their thought processes as they moved from one health issue to the next. “The idea was to get them to unpack the basic elements of their critical thinking and explore whether or not they thought it was accurate and clear,” says Grigg.
Grigg quickly recognized parallels to education. “Teachers make many judgements each day,” he says. “Like nurses, they need the tools and habits of mind to form reasoned decisions about what should occur with a child or in a classroom.”
“We want critical thinking to become second nature to nurses,” says Sedgwick. “If you can think critically your patient gets better care.” Grigg echoes this sentiment for educators, noting the ultimate goal of his research with Sedgwick is improved outcomes for patients and students.
“We’ve experienced growth through our collaboration,” says Sedgwick. “Somebody coming in with new eyes can only broaden perspectives.”
“Cross-campus collaboration exposes you to opportunities you didn’t know existed,” adds Grigg, “and you see the overlap. The more deconstructed our interdisciplinary boundaries are, the more integrated our research can become in order to help classroom students as well as society.”
Writer: Elizabeth McLachlan
Photographer: Ken Heidebrecht
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