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First reflections: third‐year dentistry students' introduction to reflective practice
Author(s) -
JonasDwyer D. R. D.,
Abbott P. V.,
Boyd N.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
european journal of dental education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.583
H-Index - 41
eISSN - 1600-0579
pISSN - 1396-5883
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0579.2012.00763.x
Subject(s) - reflective practice , reflective writing , medical education , curriculum , psychology , perception , health professionals , clinical practice , medicine , pedagogy , dentistry , health care , nursing , neuroscience , economics , economic growth
To develop both professionally and personally, health professionals need to build essential skills in reflective practice. Educators generally agree that these skills should be developed as part of curricula for health professional students. The aims were to introduce reflective practice to third‐year dentistry students and to evaluate the students' self‐perceived reflective skills before and after their reflective activities. Materials and methods Using a written questionnaire, third‐year dentistry students' perceptions of reflective practice were gathered before and after their first clinic placement. Students also completed two reflective writing pieces about their clinical placements. Results The students' reflective writing pieces were allocated into one of the three categories: non‐reflector, reflector and critical reflector. Content analysis of students' perceptions of reflective practice revealed nine themes. Eight main themes emerged from students' suggestions for improving their reflective abilities. Discussion and conclusion Issues around the assessment of reflective writing are discussed, and students' suggestions for improving their reflective abilities are presented.