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This poster presentation will focus on an integrated literature review of the current state of reflective practice in pre-licensure nursing undergraduate programs. Reflective practice has become an integral component of contemporary nursing practice (Nelson, 2012). According to the Canadian Nurses Associationthe focus and intent of reflective practice is a process of professional self-reflection about events, situations and actions that can help transform nursing practice and improve patient/client care (CNA, 2005). A preliminary scoping review shows that reflective practice is a dynamic process (Finlayson, 2015) that changes over time and has revealed a number of themes. Undergraduate nursing students are required to interrogate their own practice experiences through reflections or reflective writing and journaling. Professional standards and licensing processes require demonstrations of reflection or reflective practice. Individual practice reflections form all or part of the quality assurance processes of many nursing professional associations and can be the main source of professional accountability. Besides being considered an established means of fostering learning and connecting theory to practice, reflection has also been identified as a key competency for the development of effective leaders in increasingly complex and diverse work places (Fewster-Thuente & Sherwood, 2014; Heckemann, Schols, & Halfens, 2015; Roberts, 2008; Sherwood & Horton-Deutsch, 2008). While identifying reflection as a pre-requisite to change and meaningful action in professional practice, Coward (2011) has identified a sense of pervasive reflection fatigue among undergraduate students.
Methods:
We are reviewing literature from 2008, the year Freshwater, Taylor, and Sherwood (2008) published their seminal work on reflective practice in nursing to 2015. Databases searched included CINAHL, ERIC, PsycINFO, Medline, and SocINDEX. Over 200 articles were retrieved and are currently being reviewed. An evaluation tool is being used to assess the articles.
Results: To date, fewer than 6 articles focus on actual research studies on reflective practice. Definitions of reflection are diverse and implementation is extremely variable.
Conclusion:
The results will inform the design and focus of a study that will answer the following questions: How is reflective practice integrated through the undergraduate years? How do students learn about reflection in their undergraduate nursing program? How structured are reflective practice assignments? What are the understandings of educators about reflection and reflexivity?