Factors Affecting Nursing Students' Reflective Thinking During Simulation Debriefing

Although reflective thinking is regarded as an important learning aspect of debriefing, the factors that can affect reflective thinking during simulation debriefing remain unclear.

This study aimed to identify factors affecting reflective thinking during simulation debriefing among nursing students.

This study used a cross-sectional descriptive survey design with a convenience sample of 198 Korean nursing students. Participants completed a structured web-based self-administered questionnaire regarding the reflective learning continuum, psychological safety, learner communications skills, and debriefing process design. Multiple regression analyses were used to identify the factors affecting reflective thinking.

Significant factors were debriefing process design, learner communication skills, student-to-student interactions, and instructor-to-student interactions. Psychological safety did not affect the reflective thinking of nursing students.

Nurse educators should design and implement strategies to maintain effective debriefing processes, improve communication skills, and facilitate student-to-student and instructor-to-student interactions to promote reflective thinking during simulation debriefing.