title: Reflective Journaling for Critical Thinking Development in Advanced Practice Registered Nurse Students.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Critical thinking, clinical decision making, and critical reflection have been identified as skills required of nurses in every clinical situation. The Educating Nurses: A Call for Radical Transformation report suggested that critical reflection is a key to improving the educational process. Reflective journaling is a tool that helps develop such skills.
  
  
  METHODS
  This article presents the tool of reflective journaling and the use of this process by educators working with students. It describes the use of reflective journaling in graduate nursing education, as well as a scoring process to evaluate the reflection and provide feedback.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Students and faculty found the journaling to be helpful for reflection of a clinical situation focused on critical thinking skill development. The rubric scoring tool provided faculty with a method for feedback.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Reflective journaling is a tool that faculty and students can use to develop critical thinking skills for the role of the advanced practice RN. A rubric scoring system offers a consistent format for feedback.
authors.forename: Ginger
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Raterink
mesh_terms: D057179:Advanced Practice Nursing / Q000193:education*; D013338:Students, Nursing / Q000523:psychology; D013850:Thinking; D014956:Writing