Addressing ethical concerns arising in nursing and midwifery students' reflective assignments.

Background:Written reflections on practice are frequently requirements of nursing curricula. They are widely accepted as necessary for improving critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Faculty, are expected to review reflections and provide feedback that helps professional development and facilitates good practice. It is less clear what the actions of nurse educators should be when ethical infractions are revealed in the narratives.Objectives:We had two aims: 1) To combine insights from a literature review of empirical and theoretical research related to responding to ethical issues revealed in student reflections with our experiences reviewing the reflections of undergraduate nursing and midwifery students, and 2) to construct and analyze a hybrid case from these insights in order to develop guidelines for nurse educators.Research Design:A literature review was conducted using CINAHL, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, SocINDEX and ERIC databases and pertinent key words. A hybrid case was constructed of commonly e...