Exploring the experience of reflective writing among Taiwanese undergraduate nursing students: A qualitative study

Abstract

Background: Reflective learning plays an important role in students' professional and personal development. However, some nursing curricula provide insufficient opportunity for students to understand how to reflect and what reflection is. Purpose: The study aimed to explore baccalaureate nursing students' experiences of reflective writing. Design: The study used a hermeneutic phenomenological approach. Methods: Through purposive sampling, 15 participants were recruited for individual in-depth face-to-face interviews which were conducted after they had completed the course ‘Application of Emergency Nursing’. Interviews were semi-structured and audio-recorded. Additional data were obtained from 20 documents on consulting faculty for reflective writing. Data analysis was undertaken through a hermeneutic phenomenological framework based on van Manen's approach. Results: Participants reported that reflective writing had helped them to optimise their personal and professional development. Four themes emerged from the analysis: recording a personal story, presenting a process of events, confronting challenges, and strengthening personal characteristics. Conclusions: Students were satisfied with their learning achievements and growth and felt they had become better through reflective writing. The results demonstrated that: reflective writing needs to be elaborated objectively and carefully; continuing self-dialogue can reveal the true meaning of an incident; students learned strategies to apply in future situations.