All Ireland Society for Higher Education
| Name: | Paul Francis Horan |
|---|---|
| Email: | pahoran@tcd.ie |
| Institution: | Trinity College Dublin |
Monahan, Mark., monahanm@tcd.ie
The move to degree based nurse education in Ireland has resulted in the formal requirement for the development of an approach to professional nurse education which results in the acquisition of critical thinking skills in the nursing professionals of the future. This paper reports a curriculum innovation known as 'reflective scaffolding' which has been designed to facilitate the development of critical thinking skills through various reflective processes within student groups on an undergraduate nursing programme. This paper reports on the overall implementation of the process.It explores the development of a 'reflective scaffolding' as a curriculum innovation. The process involves collaboration with six partner health service providers across three strands of nursing (general, psychiatric and intellectual disability). It was implemented where no such framework or culture existed. The paper explores the following key issues:
1. Developing critical thinking and reflective processing skills for professional nursing practice
2. Development and training of facilitators
3. Development of protocols for facilitating reflective sessions
4. Managing disclosure in reflective processes
5. Logistics of managing the project for cohorts in excess of 200 students per year
The paper examines collaborative processes devised to get students to participate meaningfully. It also evaluates the project from both the student and facilitator perspectives. Recommendations are made for the ongoing development of the process.