First Advisor

Finn, Christine

Thesis Committee Member(s)

Cullen, Patricia

College

Rueckert-Hartman College for Health Professions

Degree Name

Doctor of Nursing Practice

School

Loretto Heights School of Nursing

Document Type

Thesis - Open Access

Number of Pages

74 pages

Abstract

This project reports the outcomes of development of a tool for teaching reflective thinking in the neonatal nurse practitioner (NNP) student. The purpose of this project was to improve patient care by preparing a mindful, reflective NNP. The project premise was encouraging reflection would enhance what students understand about aspects of patient care, to include all phases of healthcare processes: assessment, diagnosis, planning, intervention, and evaluation. The Ignatian Pedagogy Conceptual Model© was utilized as a teaching tool to create reflective thinking assignments for NNP students in their final clinical practicum. Significance of the project was to examine whether the tool demonstrated improved reflective thinking, as assessed on Kember's Reflective Thinking Questionnaire. In this study, the typical participant was female, aged 31-35 years with 6-10 years of NICU experience. The small sample size in this study was unable to duplicate previous study findings of improvement in reflective thinking. The project succeeded in developing and testing an educational strategy to advance learning. The teaching tool provided structure for student reflection and supported a transition from exclusive passive learning to participative, active learning. Assessing, encouraging, and teaching reflective thinking through practice may ultimately demonstrate improvement in patient care.

Date of Award

Spring 2014

Location (Creation)

Colorado (state); Denver (county); Denver (inhabited place)

Rights Statement

All content in this Collection is owned by and subject to the exclusive control of Regis University and the authors of the materials. It is available only for research purposes and may not be used in violation of copyright laws or for unlawful purposes. The materials may not be downloaded in whole or in part without permission of the copyright holder or as otherwise authorized in the “fair use” standards of the U.S. copyright laws and regulations.

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