This is a short presentation on reflective writing intended for students of Dietetics at Massey University, New Zealand

1. Reflective Writing on
Practice in Dietetics
Purpose of Reflective Journals
Key features of Reflective Writing
Weaknesses to Avoid in Reflective Writing
Analysis of examples of Reflective Writing

2. TYPICAL REFLECTIVE JOURNAL
TASK
Ensure you cover what you learnt from the
different experiences you had during the week
and changes you have made / will make to
your practice as a result.
Think about core skills, e.g. communication,
organisation, negotiation, cultural knowledge
etc. Identify personal strengths and
development areas.

3. What purposes does reflective
writing have as a part of clinical
placement?
lets the supervisor know how you are feeling
reassures the supervisor that you’re making progress
shares important professional problems or issues
helps you process experience and gain closure and
develop insight
gives you an opportunity to set goals for the next
stage
allows you to make connections between the nitty-
gritty of placement experience and the bigger
picture of your professional development
COMMUNICATION
LEARNING

4. KEY FEATURES OF REFLECTIVE
WRITING
• Focuses on one or more aspects of experience during placements
which are related to developing professional competencies (e.g.
applied nutrition, communication, management, cultural
competency, professionalism)
• Reports concisely and clearly on relevant actions, interactions or
perceptions
• Discusses reasons for and effects of these actions etc
• Makes explicit connections between these actions etc and your
underlying competency development
• Identifies what you have learnt (about the specific issue /
professional knowledge and skills in general / about yourself)
• Sets goals for ongoing development in the target
competency/ies

5. FRAMEWORK FOR A REFLECTIVE
JOURNAL ENTRY
• Introduction (to set
the context)
• Concise description of
an event (or sequence
of events)
• Interpretation of the
event
• Summary of what you
learnt from the event
(in relation to
professional
development)
• Relevant goals for
ongoing development
• 1 sentence
• 2 or 3 sentences
• 1 or 2 sentences
• 1 sentence
• 1 sentence

6. WEAKNESSES TO AVOID IN
REFLECTIVE WRITING
• telling stories of experiences – without
analysis
• wallowing in (or avoiding) self-criticism
• making claims about learning etc which
are not clearly linked to something that
happened
• selection of trivial or irrelevant
incidents
• missing, vague or unrealistic goals

7. REFLECTIVE WRITING EXAMPLE 1
This was my first consultation at the Massey clinic. The client
arrived late for the appointment, which meant that there was
not much time to make him feel at ease or to discuss what he
was expecting from the consultation. It also increased my
anxiety, especially as I was being observed for the first time. I
went through the standard procedure of assessment and
selected a programme based on this assessment. I explained it
to the client and he seemed satisfied and we made
arrangements for a follow-up session two weeks later. I
reminded him about the need to arrive on time. I was pleased
that I managed to remember all of the steps in the assessment
of client needs and goals and I think I chose a programme that
matched those. I wish I had had more time to talk to the
client, so I hope that he comes on time for the next
consultation. I also think I wasn’t as nervous as I thought I
was going to be and I think having the flow-chart in front of
me really helped me remember the steps I needed to
go through. Basically, I’m satisfied with the way it went.

8. REFLECTIVE WRITING EXAMPLE 2
I started the week nervous and anxious as I wanted to do well
in the last week of my placement. However, my first clinic on
Monday was a disaster. My supervisor’s feedback was fair
enough, but left me feeling devastated, as if I was right back
at square one. I took it on the chin, though, and made sure I
was 100% prepared with the ADIME format for the rest of the
clinics this week. I felt my confidence grow more each day,
and with this feeling came a more relaxed demeanour, greater
rapport building with patients, and overall more enjoyment
whilst conducting the clinic. My last clinic was the paediatric
clinic for allergies. In previous weeks, I’d found this
challenging, due to my limited experience with children.
However, this last clinic was my most enjoyable over the
whole placement – much to my surprise.

9. REFLECTIVE WRITING EXAMPLE 3
I have enjoyed my time here at the DHB. Looking back at the
five weeks, the main learnings I have are:
1) I need to use my clinical reasoning skills to interpret
information I’ve during assessments.
2) I need to convey an evidence-based rationale for the
direction I want to take the patient.
3) I need to use open-ended questions and simple language
to help assess the background and information. I feel I have
good rapport building skills and empathy awareness, but I can
ask leading questions and need to be mindful of this and the
information gathered in this manner.
4) I need to be confident in my abilities. The feedback I have
had has been very positive, so I need to take this on board
and be happy with the level I am at, and keep progressing my
skills in my future career.