Self-reflection during first clinical practice: The experiences of nursing students

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Clinical Practice
• Student Experience

Background:

• Self-reflection is a valuable tool for nursing students to analyze experiences and enhance learning.
• It fosters problem-solving skills and self-awareness in academic and clinical settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore nursing students' self-reflection during their initial clinical practice.
• To understand the student experience in the foundational stages of nursing education.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative methodology with a naturalistic paradigm.
• Thematic analysis of written self-reflection diary entries from 17 undergraduate nursing students.
• Data collected during their first clinical practice (March-June 2016).

Main Results:

• Three dominant themes emerged: emotional experiences, interpersonal relationships, and learning.
• Students primarily express their clinical practice experiences through emotions.

Conclusions:

• Self-reflection facilitates emotional expression, problem identification, and self-understanding for nursing students.
• Highlights the importance of self-reflection for professional and personal development in nursing.