Nurses' perceptions of the value of written reflection

Reflective writing is increasingly becoming a feature of professional practice as nurses seek to provide evidence of their continuing development and competence. This study reports the process and findings of a study using grounded theory to explore how nurses are using and developing writing techniques as a tool for facilitating and supporting their development in practice. Two focus group interviews were conducted with 12 experienced nurses completing a professional course which involved reflective writing as the assessment component over a calendar year. These interviews generated the broad base of concepts and categories which direct the later stages of a grounded theory study. These preliminary categories suggest that firstly, the skills of reflective writing need to be learnt rather than being assumed as a natural capacity; secondly, that this leads to the acceptance of writing as a learning strategy in its own right; thirdly, reflective writing is considered to be a tool which helps the practitioner to develop analytical and critical abilities; finally, the nurses identified their own personal, as well as professional growth as being facilitated by reflective writing. Lincoln and Guba's (1985) criteria for establishing rigour in qualitative studies, and Strauss and Corbin's (1990) criteria for judging a grounded theory study are used as benchmarks throughout the paper.