Developing reflective capacities in midwifery students: Enhancing learning through reflective writing.

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Healthcare Professional Development
• Reflective Practice in Midwifery

Background:

• Practice-based placements are crucial for linking theory to practice and meeting industry standards.
• The post-practicum period offers a valuable opportunity for students to critically analyze their clinical experiences.
• Reflective practice is a key skill for facilitating learning from clinical placements.

Purpose of the Study:

• To optimize learning from practice-based experiences by enhancing midwifery students' reflective writing skills.
• To improve the capacity of midwifery students for reflective practice through a structured writing intervention.

Main Methods:

• Design-based research was employed to implement an educational intervention focused on reflective writing.
• The Bass Model of Holistic Reflection was introduced to guide students in developing reflective capacity.
• Student reflections were assessed using a scoring framework before and after the intervention.

Main Results:

• Pre-intervention reflections scored poorly in demonstrating reflective capacity.
• All assessed components of reflective writing showed improvement post-intervention.
• The intervention led to enhanced self-awareness, critical reflection, and evidence-informed practice.

Conclusions:

• A structured reflection model, the Bass Model, significantly improved reflective writing components in midwifery students.
• The implementation process and use of the Bass Model enabled students to better demonstrate reflective capacity through writing.
• Further research is warranted, but the findings indicate the model's effectiveness in enhancing reflection-on-practice.