Reflective writing in undergraduate medical education: A qualitative review from the field of psychiatry

The aim of this study was to identify the types of reflective writing produced by a cohort of medical students undertaking a clinical psychiatry module as part of their undergraduate medical programme at a University in the Republic of Ireland. A random sample of 80 reflective essays were selected for review. These assignments were evaluated using a comprehensive content analysis process with a pre-determined reflective writing coding instrument and coding protocol. Dialogic reflection was the most common type of reflective writing identified, with 56.3% (n = 45) of the summative assignments categorised as such. Twenty five percent (n = 20) of the assignments were classified as descriptive reflection, while 18.8% (n = 15) of the assignments demonstrated critical reflection. Overall, the findings of the study indicate that this innovative programme was successful in fostering and developing reflective writing in medical students to quite an advanced level. The paper concludes with specific recommendations for facilitating reflective writing in professional and higher education.