earticle

영어

The aim of this descriptive cross-sectional study was determine the effect of critical thinking and clinical decision-making on ethical dilemmas. A survey of dental hygienists residing in Busan and South Gyeongsang, Korea was conducted using convenience sampling between September and December, 2013. A total of 153 responses were used in the final analysis. Data analysis and structural equation modeling were performed with IBM SPSS Statistics(version 21.0) and AMOS(version 18.0) programs. A negative(-) correlation coefficient(-0.37) was observed between critical thinking and ethical dilemmas on statistical analysis, i.e., higher critical thinking led to less ethical dilemmas(p=0.024, CR=-2.264). The values from the structural equation model were χ²=98.124, df=66, GFI=0.919, AGFI=0.871, and RMSEA=0.057. This study proposed a theoretical model in which critical thinking, ethical values, and decision-making skills should be firmly established to effectively respond to specific situations, such as ethical dilemmas, and that greater tendencies for critical thinking led to less ethical dilemmas, thereby demonstrating a negative(-) correlation between the two parameters.