My project proposal grew out of the results of a “mixed methods” SoTL mini-grant study exploring the current state of written assignments across the nursing curriculum and opportunities for expansion. The abstract describing the results of the study is posted in my ePortfolio (password protected). Briefly, the literature shows that academic literacy for nurses, specifically reading and writing within the nursing discipline, contributes to improved patient care quality, safety, and satisfaction. Narrative pedagogy has been shown to enhance the student’s ability to “think like a nurse.” Engagement in reflective practices, including writing, has also been found to mitigate factors contributing to stress, compassion fatigue, and secondary trauma in nursing practice. As a result of this study and my interest in expanding student opportunities for writing and reflection in all their courses, my hope is that ePortfolio will serve as a vehicle for student reflection on written assignments as they develop their professional nursing identity.
Lori Rand has helped tremendously with clarification of the “why”, “what”, and “how” of reflective writing assignments; she developed a script and reflective writing video to share with the students. We discussed several ways to improve student awareness of and skill in using reflective practice, as well as reviewed assignment prompts to highlight a more explicit reflection cycle.
We will continue to discuss which reflective cycle theories/models best support the assignments and how to introduce them to students. In addition, I’m exploring several reflective writing rubrics for measuring student progress.
https://workingwellsolutions.com/reflection-gibbs-model-applied-example/
References
Blakeslee, A. M., Hines, S. H., Primeau, S., McBain, A. L., Versluis, J., & McCaffery, R. L. (2018). Reading and writing in nursing education. Journal of Nursing Education and Practice, 8(6), 56-65. https://doi.org/10.5430/jnep.v8n6p56
Bussard, M. (2015a). Clinical judgment in reflective journals of prelicensure nursing students. The Journal of Nursing Education, 54(1), 36–40. https://doi.org/10.3928/01484834-20141224-05
Bussard, M. (2015b). The nature of clinical judgment development in reflective journals. The Journal of Nursing Education, 54(8), 451–454. https://doi.org/10.3928/01484834-20150717-05
Coombs, J. (2020). Nurses and midwives reflection process. Working Well Solutions Ltd. Retrieved from https://workingwellsolutions.com/reflection-gibbs-model-applied-example/
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Lasater, K., & Nielsen, A. (2009). Reflective journaling for clinical judgment development and evaluation. The Journal of Nursing Education, 48(1), 40–44. https://doi.org/10.3928/01484834-20090101-06
Mitchell, K. M. (2018). Constructing writing practices in nursing. The Journal of Nursing Education, 57(7), 399–407. https://doi.org/10.3928/01484834-20180618-04
Mlinar Reljić, N., Pajnkihar, M., & Fekonja, Z. (2019). Self-reflection during first clinical practice: The experiences of nursing students. Nurse Education Today, 72, 61–66. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2018.10.019
Naber, J., & Wyatt, T. H. (2014). The effect of reflective writing interventions on the critical thinking skills and dispositions of baccalaureate nursing students. Nurse Education Today, 34(1), 67–72. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2013.04.002
Tanner, C. A. (2006). Thinking like a nurse: A research-based model of clinical judgment in nursing. The Journal of Nursing Education, 45(6), 204–211. https://doi.org/10.3928/01484834-20060601-04
Wilding, P. M. (2008). Reflective practice: A learning tool for student nurses. British Journal of Nursing, 17(11), 720–724. https://doi.org/10.12968/bjon.2008.17.11.29644