Abstract: Objectives To investigate current status of critical thinking on year 2 medical students and explore the relationship between critical thinking and the scores of preclinical courses. Methods Chinese version of Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory (CTDI-CV) was used to investigate the current status of critical thinking on year 2 medical students in Peking University, correlation was analyzed between critical thinking and the scores of preclinical courses. Results The average total score of critical thinking ability of year 2 medical students in Peking University was 306. All seven CTDI-CV dispositional subscales were positive, scores of the inquisitiveness subscale and the analytic subscale were higher and the CT self-confidence subscale and the truth-seeking subscale were lower. Scores of preclinical courses had significant positive correlation with CTDI-CV and the open-mindedness subscale. Conclusions The results suggest that critical thinking disposition and the open-mindedness subscale should be improved in the medical education.

Key words: Critical Thinking, preclinical courses, scores, co-relationship