Background: Nursing students exposed to clinical experiences may have intense feelings during required clinical preparations. Art can provide a source of relief from demands of caring for varieties of patients [1]. Little research exists on benefits of art to facilitate nursing students to process unexpected events. Faculty at a faithbased, liberal arts University introduce creative reflection to help find meaning in unexpected clinical experiences.Aim: The aim of this paper is to discuss the application of creative reflection across BSN courses.Method: Creative reflection was first offered in the Adult Medical-Surgical Course. Positive feed back led faculty to add creative reflection to the pediatric course after pediatric burn clinical rotation; to the Behavioral Health course for understanding of mental health issues; and in Foundations for coping with grief concepts.Results: Students reported this type of expression meaningful in the unexpected, often difficult,clinical experience.
Conclusion:Creative reflections offer students an alternative outlet to process unexpected clinical experiences. Students report many benefits, including finding meaning in suffering, death, and ability to "de-stress". Introducing creative reflections may give students an "outlet" for coping which could lead to prevention of nursing burn-out.