Application of Critical Reflective Inquiry in Nursing Education

Abstract

Critical reflective inquiry (CRI) is a method of inquiry developed by Kim (1999) to be applied in clinical practice to improve one’s practice as well as discover knowledge embedded in practitioner’s practice. The method is based on the philosophies and tenets of action science and critical philosophy, and encompasses three phases: descriptive, reflective, and critical. This chapter describes the application of CRI in a nursing education program with aims of instilling in students the mode of reflective practice and to learn not only through practicing in clinical situations but also from reflecting on and critiquing their clinical experiences. A qualitative analysis of a set of CRI reports revealed five themes in clinical practice that represented specific concerns and problems for the students. These five thematic areas are (a) client–nurse interaction and communication, (b) knowing the patient or patient identity, (c) nursing care, (d) ethics, and (e) interpersonal relationships with other health-care professionals. While these CRIs revealed the students’ insights into their own practice, students needed inputs from the faculty members to enrich their reflections and critiques. The findings of this analysis suggest that faculty members should consider these five areas as the basis for varying students’ clinical experiences so that students would gain experiences in a variety of problematic situations.