A Qualitative Exploration of Existing Reflective Practices Used by Undergraduate Dental Students in Paediatric Dentistry

Abstract

Background: Reflection is increasingly significant for dental students and professionals and is a continuing requirement of dental regulatory bodies. There is a paucity of evidence regarding how best to facilitate deep reflection for dental students. This study explored whether the use of clinical logbooks in undergraduate clinical attachments in Paediatric Dentistry was facilitating deep reflection. Methods: This qualitative study used individual interviews for data collection. This was conducted at the University of Sheffield with third year undergraduate dental students and clinical teaching staff. Interviews were immediately transcribed verbatim. A reflexive approach to thematic analysis was used to co-constitute the data, enabling the development of the thematic framework. Results: The sample compromised 10 students and 4 educators. Thematic analysis generated 4 key themes: understanding of reflection, preparation for reflection, importance of learning through experience, and suggestions for development. The findings indicated that students perceived that they were not being supported in engaging in deep reflection by the use of a clinical logbook and that greater preparation for reflection would be beneficial. Conclusions: The current study revealed that using clinical logbooks during clinical attachments in Paediatric Dentistry was not facilitating deep reflection. Further research is required to explore how deep reflection can be facilitated for undergraduate dental students undertaking clinical learning.

Co-creation to Develop Interventions to Facilitate Deep Reflection for Dental Students

“…A recent literature review highlighted the need for a systematic overhaul of current methods of facilitating reflective practice in dentistry [10]. Furthermore, qualitative research by this team has demonstrated that the use of a written clinical logbook (Figure 1) to engage undergraduate dental students in deep reflection is unhelpful [11]. This study identified several barriers to reflective practice (Table 1) through the lens of the student, rather than educators, to whom these barriers had been invisible, justifying the need for a collaborative approach which involves students in the design and development of reflective practice.…”

“…Students questioned the value of compulsory reflection on every patient contact that they had Online options Flexibility in the method of reflection, including online options and apps were suggested to better engage students in the reflective process Table 1 A summary of the key findings of "It's like two stars and a wish": A qualitative exploration of existing reflective practices used by undergraduate dental students [11].…”

“…Recruitment of participants from the previous research study to join as co-creators [11] Avoid power imbalance, between researchers and students [18]. Students had already volunteered solutions to the known problems associated with the previous method of reflecting.…”

“…• Development of a series of resources on the purpose and importance of reflection to address the disparity in the understanding of reflection, preparedness for reflection [11] • Logbook changes…”

“…• Change from 'reflection' to 'learning points' allowed students to identify and record areas for improvement with clarity, acknowledging positive functions of the logbook reported by students to identify points for future learning and facilitate communication with educators [11] • Changes to reflective process…”