Suggestions for overcoming the barriers to critical thinking in Primary Care

Aim: Propose a simple strategy for educators to help healthcare professionals (HPs) overcome the most common barriers to critical thinking (CT) development and utilization. Outline of context: HPs face the challenge of delivering high-quality care in a constantly changing and stressful environment. CT can greatly enhance the quality of care provided by HPs, especially in the management of respiratory diseases (RD) in primary care. Since, in primary care the presence of risk factors and RDs necessitates HCPs to have a holistic perspective and the ability to implement complex guidelines. However, studies have suggested that HPs often have low levels of CT or do not fully utilize it during clinical practice. This could be attributed to the barriers HPs encounter when developing or using CT skills. A brief description of the change and why you thought it would work: Healthcare educators can play a crucial role in addressing this challenge by incorporating teaching methods that promote CT during university training. Unfortunately, educators often rely exclusively on teacher-centered rather than active learning approaches. Conversely, HPs face various barriers during clinical practice that hinder their ability to utilize CT. These barriers include a lack of teamwork, high levels of stress, and time constraints. Consequently, the utilization of CT and the quality of care provided by HPs are negatively impacted. Your strategy for change: We propose a simple strategy with three components: individual, interdisciplinary, and administrative. Educators could adopt this strategy to facilitate HCPs in overcoming the barriers when utilizing CT during clinical practice. Impact and lessons learned: CT is fundamental for high-quality healthcare. However, to more effectively develop/utilize CT, HPs should overcome the aforementioned barriers. By implementing the suggested strategy, HPs could overcome the barriers hindering CT development/utilization, and ultimately provide better quality of care for patients with respiratory and other chronic diseases.