Engaging with practice: Information literacy instruction as a part of developing reflective thinking and clinical judgement in nursing studies

Abstract

This study examines how nursing students in their final year use skills in information literacy (IL) in clinical placements when working on an assignment in evidence-based practice. The IL instruction and the assignment were designed to give the students room for reflective thinking. Reflective thinking is crucial for developing good practice and adequate care in nursing. The study is qualitatively oriented and sets out to examine what kind of skills and knowledge the students demonstrate when doing an assignment that is practically oriented, and where IL is integrated in other tasks. The empirical material consists of written reflection notes from clinical placement. These notes have been analysed using a version of Bloom’s taxonomy. For educators it is important to focus on how to bridge the theory-practice gap and combine IL with practical work. In this study we have identified some factors that may need more attention when designing similar assignments for students. The conclusion drawn from the reflection notes is that the students are on different levels of maturity and that in designing assignments related to real-life contexts, this should be given more attention.