David McLean1 Martin Richardson¹
1 Epworth HealthCare 

We applied a novel and innovative approach to the critical skill of reflective practice amongst medical student by utilizing creative writing strategies to promote an evaluation and analysis of attitudes and practices. The aim was to identify gaps in learning and to facilitate an awareness of ways to complement the positivist, constructivist of most students by alerting them to alternative perspectives when it came to evaluating performance. This became the subject of a research paper in The Journal of Medical Humanities in May 2022. 

The importance of our research lay in our stated aims to investigate the effects such an approach would have on student engagement, their perceptions of reflective practice and how this impacted on their ways of knowing. This meant we were delving into the reasons and attitudes held by students when it came to their perception of clinical studies many of which hadn't been identified or articulated by the cohort. They were given an opportunity to express sublimated thoughts and feelings which had remained hidden, namely their fears and doubts. It also exposed for the institution an opportunity to reflect on how it taught students and the implied agendas that existed within an institution. 

The strategies used are deceptively simple - one could even say surreptitious - but they are inclusive, non-threatening, playful and engaging. This has been seen as counter to the pressure and gravity normally associated with medical studies. It is also a way of relieving the pressure and tension some students feel because of the assumptions they have about medical studies. 

We want to run a workshop at the conference to demonstrate the strategies we utilized amongst the students to give participants an insight into just how deceptively easy it can be to implement such a program and how beneficial the outcomes can be. The abstract nature of the task runs counter to the scientific and logical approaches normally taken in the teaching of students and the qualitative nature of the evaluation is in direct contrast to the outcome orientation of medical studies. 

Anyone in a leadership role looking at expanding awareness of how we learn would be an ideal candidate to attend the workshop. Those responsible for the mental health and psychological wellbeing of students might find this of particular interest. 

Attendees need no previous knowledge to be able to participate but, rather, need a willingness to actively engage in the activities. 

Attendees will be able to build on their repertoire of strategies and approaches when it comes to fostering a learning community that can critically analyse how individuals are taught and how they respond and engage to the established model of delivery when undertaking clinical studies. 

References (maximum three) 

David McLean, Neville Chiavaroli, Charlotte Denniston, Martin Richardson 2022. "In‐verse reflection: structured creative writing exercises to promote reflective learning in medical students." Journal of Medical Humanities 43:493–504 https://rdcu.be/cN0XS 

Forbes, Lisa K. 2021. “The Process of Playful Learning in Higher Education: A Phenomenological Study.” Journal of Teaching and Learning 15 (1): 57–73. https:// doi. org/ 10. 22329/ jtl. v15i1. 6515. 

Shapiro, Johanna, and Howard Stein. 2005. “Poetic License: Writing Poetry as a Way for Medical Students to Examine Their Professional Relational Systems.” Families, Systems, & Health 23 (3): 278–292. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1037/ 1091- 7527. 23.3. 278.