A critical review of reflective models in clinical nursing learning
Authors: Ahmadi Soleiman , Ayazi Zahra , Zarezadeh Yadollah 
Published: April 2023

Background and aims: Experience is the main foundation of learning, but learning without thinking and reflective cannot happen to be related to action. Moving towards experience-based education is an effective replacement for traditional education so that active learning can take place. Reflection in medical sciences seeks to combine theoretical concepts with practice, increase experience-based learning, accept responsibility and continuous professional growth, increase critical thinking and judgment in critical and complex situations based on experience and clinical knowledge, and improve the quality of care, increase professional strength, improvement in performance by raising individual awareness, development of clinical knowledge and skills. Therefore, this study was conducted to synthesis the research in reflective models in learning based on reflective thinking in clinical learning of nursing students in 2020. Methods: In this systematic synthesis research, researches related to reflective models in clinical nursing learning were examined in three stages: determining the geography of the research, systematic critique of selected documents, and synthesizing a new creation of separate elements and combining them and evaluates and combines current and ongoing studies. Results: The results of combining the findings of the research selected for this study are in response to research questions such as: What are the existing models of learning based on in-depth thinking? What features, levels and steps do they have? And what are the researches related to this type of learning in clinical nursing education and how have they been done? Which were selected based on systematic criteria and parameters and during a systematic process compared and combined the findings of this research and finally were synthesized and processed in the form of findings to answer research questions. Seven models of applied reflective thinking in clinical learning were reviewed by experts: Borton, Gibbs, Smyth, John, Mezirow, Zarezadeh, Cottrell, which had commonalities and distinctions according to specific concepts of reflective learning. In all models, gaining experience and examining it to promote and improve learning by identifying a problem or event, and the beginning and end of this method, increases the potential of this type of learning for more application in clinical education, especially the nursing group. Reflective thinking had practical values such as: strengthening deep learning, understanding the learning process in students, helping to advance professionalism and learning throughout life, using previous learning knowledge and building, redefining and reconstructing knowledge based on new experiences. It is presented through the learning environment and emphasizes accepting responsibility for educating others. Reflective learning ensures that learning is not limited to formal environments and that every experience is considered a learning experience. It also offers new insights, changed ideas, and a corrective attitude or emotional trait. Conclusion: The result of research synthesis, strengthening the efficiency and positive effect of this type of learning on the acquisition of skills, student and teacher motivation and the ability to learn collaboratively as well as improving skills in the clinical environment, although moving beyond the traditional context of teaching and learning, demands and the result of combining the data of the studies also emphasizes the practical nature and construction of knowledge in learning based on insight and its special place to eliminate the theoretical and practical gap in clinical education witnessing the excellence of this operational part of clinical education and health promotion of community by providing proper performance of nursing staff.