Physiotherapy students find guided journals useful to develop reflective thinking and practice during their first clinical placement: a qualitative study

ObjectiveThis study evaluated physiotherapy students’ perception of a reflective journal in developing reflective thinking and practice and identified the main concepts recorded by students in the journal.DesignA mixed methods study with qualitative content analysis of student journals and quantitative analysis of questionnaire responses.Participants131 (74 female, 57 male) physiotherapy students undergoing their first clinical placement.InterventionsOn completion of their placement, students submitted a reflective journal electronically and completed a questionnaire of closed and open ended questions.Main outcome measuresQuestionnaires were analysed using frequencies for the responses of the closed questions and thematic analysis of the open ended questions. Journals were de-indentified and underwent a content analysis using Leximancer© software to obtain a concept map and frequencies of the main concepts identified in the journals, with specific examples.ResultsThe majority (88%, 79/90) of respondents found the journal useful in assisting them to learn from their experiences, and to develop reflective thinking and practice. 54% (49/90) indicated they would continue to use the journals. The most frequently identified concepts were residents, time and exercises; representing more than 5000 of the total concepts identified in the journals. Analysis of the reflective journals indicated that students demonstrated improvements in the three stages of reflective practice: awareness of thoughts and feelings, critical analysis of situation, and development of new perspectives.ConclusionsGuided journal writing may be a useful tool in facilitating reflective thinking and practice during clinical placements of physiotherapy students.