First reflections: third-year dentistry students' introduction to reflective practice

Abstract

Introduction: 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.