Reflective writing is one way of citing evidence of practice and learning in practice. Reflective writing involves thinking about and reviewing events to try and make sense of them, using acquired nursing knowledge and understanding.
Reflective journaling also provides insight into context and emotions and addresses the matching of intellect, decision-making and problem solving appropriate for a complex and dynamic situation.
A key component of this assignment will be your reflection on specific incidents occurring during your practicum experience. The reflective journal is more than a description of what you have seen and the tasks you have performed. This journal is a chance for you to comment on your actions and experiences in your practicum placement and to explore your feelings about the same. Include how these could/should impact your personal and professional development.
As a novice nurse, you will be required to plan, implement and evaluate your own performance; the reflective journal gives you the scope to begin to develop these skills while completing your practicum.
The reflective journal is a learning tool that can be used to look at your experiences and help you to do the following:
a) Review and reflect upon your development, and how you have grown on both an individual and professional level
b) Organize your thoughts
c) Demonstrate practical application of the underpinnings of knowledge; link theory with clinical practice and vice versa
d) Demonstrate practical competence
e) Decide what new learning you need; provide evidence to show where, when and how practice outcomes/standards of proficiencies have been achieved
Suggestions for developing your reflective journal entry:
1. What might you write about?
You may choose to write about any aspect of your practice which:
➢ You feel your intervention made a difference in a client outcome
➢ You feel went unusually well
➢ You feel did not go as planned
➢ You think captures the essence of your nursing practice
➢ You feel was particularly demanding
2. What might you include in your writings?
The focus should be on your nursing practice
➢ What was going on (the context of the situation)?
o Shift, time of day, resources, clinical scenario
➢ What happened?
o Detailed description of situation/incident/experience
➢ Why this incident is important to you?
➢ What were your concerns at the time?
o What were you thinking and feeling during and after the experience?
o What influenced your decision making?
o What, if anything, was the most demanding aspect of this experience?
o What was unexpected?
3. Reflect upon what you learned from the experience.
You may choose to write about the following:
➢ A reflection or evaluation of the situation showing the competencies and expertise you used (skilled communication, teaching, leadership). Support these with current evidence-based practice literature.
➢ What actions did you take? Include not just what you did, but more importantly the rationale for your actions. Support these with current evidence-based practice literature
➢ What new knowledge or insights were gained? How would you make recommendations for change in practice?
➢ Provide references to show evidence based practice (see guidelines below)
➢ Did you learn anything? If so what?
➢ Have you considered another way to manage your nursing practice as it relates to this experience? Has your nursing practice changed in any way?
Guidelines
1. Journal entries should exceed no more than two (2) pages in length (not including reference page).
2. Journal entries should include a minimum of one (1) citation from a peer-reviewed, evidence based journal. The inclusion of evidence based practice is an integral part of learning, critical thinking and growth.
3. APA requirement: Reference page only
4. See attached rubric for grading.
Reflective Journal Rubric
Relevance – The learning experience being reflected upon is relevant and meaningful to student and course learning goals
Analysis- The reflection moves beyond simple description of the experience to an analysis of how the experience contributed to student understanding of self and others
Interconnections- The reflection demonstrates connections between the experience and material from other courses, past experience and/or personal goals
Self-reflection- The reflection demonstrates an excellent ability of the student to define new modes of thinking based on their practice and critique of current evidence based research
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