Preventive Care in Nursing and Midwifery Journal

Background and Objectives: Considering the importance of thinking styles in individuals' decision making, this study was conducted to investigate the correlation between thinking styles with clinical decision making among nurses working in educational hospitals affiliated to Tabriz University of Medical Sciences. Materials and Methods: In this descriptive–correlational study, 196 nurses were recruited using random sampling method. Data were collected using the Thinking Styles Inventory and a researcher structured questionnaire. Data were analyzed using the Pearson correlation test and multiple regression analysis. Results: The results showed that hierarchical thinking had the most significant relationship with the clinical decision making (p<0.001 r=0.427). Conservative and internal thinking styles showed significant negative relationships with the clinical decision making (p<0.05 r=-0.201, r=-0.149, respectively). According to the multiple logistic regression analysis, type 1 thinking styles predicted better clinical decision makings and type 2 thinking styles were associated with low scores of clinical decision making. Nevertheless the relation intensity obtained from the test was poor (R2=0.171 p<0.001). Conclusion: Considering significant relationship between thinking styles with clinical decision making, further studies are recommended.