Comparison of the level of critical thinking skills of faculties and medical students of Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, 2021

BACKGROUND: One of the main tasks of educational institutions, in addition to developing students' professional competencies, is to develop decision-making and problem-solving skills, which are themselves influenced by critical thinking that should be developed by instructors at the university. The aim of this study was to compare the level of critical thinking skills in students and faculties of Ahwaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this cross-sectional descriptive study, the sample consisted of 81 medical students and 52 faculty members of the medical school who were teaching and studying in 2021. The research method was descriptive analytical and the data collection tool was the California Critical Thinking Questionnaire Form B. SPSS-18 software and t-test were used to analyze the data. RESULTS: The mean score of students' critical thinking skills was 12.49 +/- 4.43 and that of faculties was 12.44 +/- 3.76 and no significant difference was observed between the scores of the two groups (P = 0.94). CONCLUSION: The findings of the study show that the level of critical thinking skills in both faculties and students is below the standard and poor. The results of the study indicate the weakness of critical thinking in students and faculties in all dimensions, which indicates the need to teach critical thinking skills at the university level. Therefore, educational planners and faculty officials should pay more attention to developing critical thinking skills in their educational programs.