Developing Reflective Thinking through Poetry Writing: Views from Students and Educators

Aims and Objectives To explore student nurse and educator perspectives on the use of poetry writing as a wayto reflect on important nursing practice issues. Background Reflective practice is a well-established method oflearning in pre-registration nurse education although student nurses can find reflection a challenging process.Design An exploratory descriptive approach. Methods Data were extracted from unstructured interviews withstudents and educators (n=12) from one university in the North-West region of England, United Kingdom(UK). Data were thematically analysed. Results Poetry writing supports a meaningful exploration of events,which have the potential to lead to changes in perspective. Careful planning of the poetry writing process isrequired, to ensure the potential of this approach is realised. Conclusion Poetry writing is an effective way to re-flect on clinical practice. This work has relevance and transferability to a wide range of professional disciplines,where reflective practice is encouraged