Abstract
Reflection and reflective practice has become a key issue for curriculumdevelopment within nurse education, particularly mental health nursing. The Nursing
and Midwifery Council have linked the demonstration of reflective skills to clinical
competence to gain entrance onto the professional register. However, despite a
significant volume of literature on reflection there is a paucity of research evidence
regarding how nurse educators teach mental health nursing students to reflect and
become effective reflective practitioners and, little research exploring experiences of
staff and students engaged in reflection for teaching and learning purposes.
A person-centred enquiry was undertaken to explore staff and student perceptions
and understanding of reflection in the context of the undergraduate pre- and post-registration mental health nursing diploma programme, utilising a framework involving
four focus groups and conducted in the university setting. Findings indicated that
participants’ definitions were congruent with the literature on reflection. However, it
was evident that students were uncertain as to how to reflect on their practice and
this was attributed (by students) to a lack of appropriate teaching, whilst staff felt that
they lacked the appropriate context within which to teach skills of reflection. A new
model and extended description of effective reflection is offered together with some
non-prescriptive recommendations aimed at enhancing teaching practice
| Date of Award | 2025 |
|---|---|
| Original language | English |