The purpose of this study was to explore and describe the learning style preferences and locus of control orientation of critical care nurses. Additionally, the relationships of the independent variables of age, sex, length of employment, employment status, certification status, educational background, and type of specialty unit were examined as they related to learning style and locus of control.

A descriptive design was utilized to investigate the problem under study. The population consisted of 140 professional nurses, both registered and licensed practical nurses, employed in the critical care nursing units of a large midwestern acute care medical center. Subjects responded to a questionnaire utilizing the Rezler-French Learning Preference Inventory and Rotter's Internal-External Locus of Control Scale.

Statistically significant differences were yielded for the relationships in the following areas: basic nursing education and abstract learning style; certification status and individual and interpersonal learning style; and type of specialty unit and teacher-structured learning style. While the remaining hypotheses retained the null form, observations of mean scores and standard deviations revealed that, overall, critical care nurses have a pronounced preference for concrete, teacher-structured, and individual learning situations. They also exhibited a more external versus internal locus of control orientation.

Results from this study supported the need for further investigation of the concepts of learning style and locus of control as they relate to critical care nurses and the facilitation of successful educational endeavors.