BackgroundReflective practice affects all levels of nursing, including students, as well as practicing nurses. Self‐reflective practice is a widespread concept in nursing; however, few empirical studies have demonstrated the possible effects of such a practice. The purpose of this integrative literature review was to identify evidence of the effects of self‐reflective practice on baccalaureate‐level nursing students, especially stress.MethodsThe literature search was conducted utilizing CINAHL and PubMed databases. The inclusion criteria were studies published between 2013 and 2018, articles that were peer‐reviewed, written in English, and focused on nursing education of baccalaureate programs only. A total of 15 articles were reviewed.ResultsThere is limited but growing evidence to suggest self‐reflective practices have positive effects on baccalaureate‐level nursing students. The self‐reflective practices decreased stress and anxiety and increased learning, competency, and self‐awareness of nursing practice. While written reflections were most commonly used in the studies, other forms of reflection, such as verbal and photography, were effective as well.Linking Evidence to ActionNursing students can benefit from incorporating reflection into the didactic and clinical settings. Nursing faculty are encouraged to integrate reflection into the nursing curriculum. Nurses within the first year of practice could benefit from using reflective practice as well. Experienced nurses and nurse managers can encourage and mentor novice nurses on the use and benefits of reflective practice.
Music is a powerful emotional tool that can be used as an effective coping mechanism, as “medicine.” Musical interventions are used in many areas of health care and medical sciences to meet the physical, psychological, social, and emotional needs of individuals. This article provides a theoretical definition of the concept of music as medicine: The use of music as a non-pharmacological strategy for coping and healing, based on its therapeutic properties, using a modification of Walker and Avant's method to identify antecedents, attributes, consequences, and empirical referents. Music as a coping strategy involves the use of music intervention and is an example of an emotion-focused, adaptive, coping strategy. The article concludes with a discussion of the implications of music as medicine for practice and research. Increased awareness of the concept of music as medicine as a strategy to manage stress offers an inexpensive non-pharmacological intervention to many organizations such as nursing care facilities, schools, and hospitals.
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