Facilitating students' reflective practice in a medical course: literature review

<b>Introduction</b>: <br />Reflection and <span class="ScopusTermHighlight">reflective</span> <span class="ScopusTermHighlight">practice</span> is of increasing importance in <span class="ScopusTermHighlight">medical</span> education curricula. The aim of this <span class="ScopusTermHighlight">review</span> is to summarise the <span class="ScopusTermHighlight">literature</span> published around <span class="ScopusTermHighlight">facilitating</span> refection in <span class="ScopusTermHighlight">a</span> <span class="ScopusTermHighlight">medical</span> <span class="ScopusTermHighlight">course</span>, and to answer the question: What is the current evidence regarding learning and development moments across the <span class="ScopusTermHighlight">medical</span> curriculum in developing <span class="ScopusTermHighlight">students</span>' <span class="ScopusTermHighlight">reflective</span> <span class="ScopusTermHighlight">practice</span>? <br /><br /><b>Methods</b>: <br /><span class="ScopusTermHighlight">A</span> <span class="ScopusTermHighlight">review</span> of the <span class="ScopusTermHighlight">literature</span> was undertaken using defined databases and the search terms '<span class="ScopusTermHighlight">medical</span> <span class="ScopusTermHighlight">students</span>', '<span class="ScopusTermHighlight">medical</span> education', 'reflection', 'reflect*' and 'medicine'. The search was limited to peer-reviewed published material in English and between the years 2001 and 2011, and included research, <span class="ScopusTermHighlight">reviews</span> and opinion pieces. Results: Thirty-six relevant articles were found, identifying enhancing factors and barriers to effectively teaching <span class="ScopusTermHighlight">reflective</span> <span class="ScopusTermHighlight">practice</span> within <span class="ScopusTermHighlight">medical</span> curricula, relating to: The breadth of the meaning of reflection; <span class="ScopusTermHighlight">facilitating</span> reflection by <span class="ScopusTermHighlight">medical</span> educators; using written or web-based portfolios to facilitate reflection; and assessing the <span class="ScopusTermHighlight">reflective</span> work of <span class="ScopusTermHighlight">students</span>. <br /><br /><b>Discussion</b>: <br /><span class="ScopusTermHighlight">A</span> variety of <span class="ScopusTermHighlight">reflective</span> purposes was found in this <span class="ScopusTermHighlight">literature</span> <span class="ScopusTermHighlight">review</span>. Evidence indicates that, if <span class="ScopusTermHighlight">students</span> are unclear as to the purpose of reflection and do not see educators modelling <span class="ScopusTermHighlight">reflective</span> behaviours, they are likely to undervalue this important skill regardless of the associated learning and development opportunities embedded in the curriculum.