The nurse teacher's role in the promotion of reflective practice

The art of reflection is seen as a key process in bringing together practice and knowledge in nursing. More specifically, reflection addresses the artistic elements of nursing care delivery. It thus appears a useful skill for pre-registration students to begin developing. However, research suggests that students under the age of 25 may lack both the cognitive readiness and the experience necessary for mature critical reflection. Teachers must therefore examine whether the reflective strategies and models that they present meet these students educational needs. It is postulated that simple models have a greater chance of success than those that are complex and demand a high time commitment. One such model for reflective journal writing is suggested.