Nursing management of the critical thinking and care quality of ICU nurses: A cross-sectional study

Aim: To explore the effectiveness of a digital learning management system in enhancing intensive care unit nurses' critical care knowledge and critical thinking tendency. Background: Learning intensive care unit knowledge and skills is essential for the continuing education of nurses, and impacts patient health outcomes. Enhancing intensive care unit nurses' critical care abilities is a medical care quality concern in clinical practice. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 212 participants to investigate the effects of a digital learning system on care quality. Results: After the implementation of the digital learning system, intensive care unit nurses' critical care knowledge and critical thinking skills increased significantly. High-level nurses had higher critical thinking scores. All participants associated critical care knowledge with improved quality of care. Conclusion: The digital learning management system enhanced intensive care unit nurses' critical care knowledge. Optimizing nursing care safety and quality requires that nursing staff to be at an adequate level, which improves their critical care ability. Implications for Nursing Management: A well-designed digital learning management system with structured classes may allow intensive care unit nurses to learn effectively and can be used for continuing education. These results are of interest to nursing management staff who want to invest in the continued professional development of intensive care unit nurses to improve critical care knowledge, critical thinking skills, care quality, and health care value.