Designing and implementing reflective practice programs--key principles and considerations.

This paper reports on an educational evaluation study that sought to identify key principles that could inform the design and implementation of undergraduate nursing reflection programs and thereby enhance the potential that nursing students will develop sound reflective practice. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with nursing graduates to explore their perceptions of an undergraduate Bachelor of Nursing reflection subject and explicate the factors that could enhance the implementation of this subject. Subsequent validation and refinement of these factors was managed by correlating the factors with students' qualitative feedback, gathered through a formal subject evaluation of the undergraduate reflective practice subject. The correlation analysis, ascertained three principles that are posited as highly significant in the design and implementation of undergraduate reflective practice nursing programs. These principles, which are explained in this paper, despite being conceptualised in an Australian University have relevance and are appropriate across national and discipline boundaries and could be used in the design and implementation of any reflection subject, particularly those in undergraduate programs.

Unlocking reflective practice for nurses: innovations in working with master of nursing students in Hong Kong.

Being reflective is well established as an important conduit of practice development, a desirable tertiary graduate quality and a core competency of health professional membership. By assisting students to be more effective in their ability to reflect, they are better able to formulate strategies to manage issues experienced within a professional context, which ultimately assists them to be better service providers. However, some students are challenged by the practice of reflection and these challenges are even more notable for international students. This paper presents a teaching initiative that focused specifically on enhancing the capacity of an international cohort of nursing students, to engage in reflective practice. The initiative centered on an evaluation of a reflective practice core subject, which was taught in a Master of Nursing programme delivered in Hong Kong. A learning-centered framework was used to evaluate the subject and identify innovative strategies that would better assist international students to develop reflective practices. The outcomes of curriculum and teaching analysis and proposed changes and innovations in teaching practice to support international students are presented and discussed.