Utilising reflective practice journals to explore student fears and feelings during psychiatric nursing clinical placement

This paper describes the use of reflective journals for student nurses to communicate their objectives, fears and beliefs concerning their first mental health nursing practicum. The study consisted of four groups of third year comprehensive nursing students (N = 76). Themes from the journals were collated, assessed utilising Mezirow's levels of reflection and analyzed using thematic analysis. The study found that students fell into three groups: anti reflectors, current reflectors and converts to reflection. Students expressed difficulty forming trusting relationships with each new clinical teacher over short, eight-day periods of clinical practice. Those who were unable to verbalize feelings of fear, or uncertainty of role, where able to share this with the clinical teacher in the form of a journal entry.