Nurses’ perceptions of the value of written reflection

Reflective writing is increasingly becoming a feature of professional practice as nurses seek to provide evidence of their continuing development and competence. This study reports the process and findings of a study using grounded theory to explore how nurses are using and developing writing techniques as a tool for facilitating and supporting their development in practice. Two focus group interviews were conducted with 12 experienced nurses completing a professional course which involved reflective writing as the assessment component over a calendar year. These interviews generated the broad base of concepts and categories which direct the later stages of a grounded theory study. These preliminary categories suggest that firstly, the skills of reflective writing need to be learnt rather than being assumed as a natural capacity; secondly, that this leads to the acceptance of writing as a learning strategy in its own right; thirdly, reflective writing is considered to be a tool which helps the practitioner to develop analytical and critical abilities; finally, the nurses identified their own personal, as well as professional growth as being facilitated by reflective writing. n and Guba’s (1985) criteria for establishing rigour in qualitative studies, and Strauss and Corbin’s (1990) criteria for judging a grounded theory study are used as benchmarks throughout the paper.