Nurse educators’ perceptions of reflection and reflective practice: a report of a descriptive study

Abstract

The concepts of reflection and reflective practice have been widely discussed in the nursing literature. Only a small amount of that literature reports research studies. This paper offers the findings of a qualitative and descriptive study in which 12 nurse educators from various teaching institutions were interviewed about reflection and reflective practice. The report identifies the findings of the study under the following headings: reflection in nurse education, reflective practice in nurse education, nursing and the use of reflection, advantages and disadvantages of reflection and teaching reflective practice. While many of the respondents reported positively and enthusiastically about reflection, a number also expressed views about its being a 'fashionable' concept and one, as yet, of unproven value. Various suggestions are made for further research in this field.