Reflective thinking in nursing education

Abstract

Idea and purpose of the project The idea of the project is to develop a method for working with reflection during the 3 year nursing education. We think that reflection is a tool to develop self-knowledge and is necessary for the development of professional skills. The idea is to have one workshop with reflective thinking, in every fivepoint course, on a theme connected with the theoretical content in the course. The theme could be: life and death, meeting other cultures, body and soul, good and evil encounters. The idea is to work with creative arts (art, photos, poems, and essays) on the chosen theme to start the students reflection. In dialogue with the rest of the group they will share others' reflections. The tutor will lead the dialogue with critical questions to make the students think more deeply and to open doors to different viewpoints and to internalize theoretical and practical knowledge. At the end of the session time will be given for reflective writing, in a diary, concerning the workshop. The purpose of this project is to improve students' self-knowledge as well as their professional development. By consciously engaging in their own and others reflection we believe that the level of professional interaction will improve. By using creative arts we hope to strengthen the visual capacity, which is important for the interpretation process. By using reflective questions in dialogue with the students we hope to support their reflective thinking in a critical manner. By using diaries the students can follow their own learning process and also practice writing, which better prepares them for nursing documentation. Another purpose is that the involved teachers improve their self-knowledge and professional skills, as the method demands that the teacher be reflective and introspective about his/her interactions with the students.