Abstract:Introduction: The purpose of this research is to measure the critical thinking (CT) skills of nursing college students before and after practical training, and examine whether situational factors such as purpose and context can affect judgments related to CT.Methods: We distributed 795 nursing students an anonymous self-administered questionnaire using the scale to assess the CT and free description type questions. The collected data was analyzed using statistical analysis and text mining analysis.Results: The effective response rate was 22.01% (n=175) before training and 22.26% (n=177) after practical training. The average score of the CT scale was 163.70±17.68 before training and 171.21±19.03 after practical training. Five categories were extracted from the open-ended questions and identified as situations in which CT in used in practical training.Discussion: The average score of the CT scale rose with practical training experience. The existence of the practical training experience have affected the total score of the CT scale.