They just don’t get it: Using digital stories to promote meaningful undergraduate reflection

Dear Sir

We present a model to help medical students reflect on meaningful clinical experiences, published in www.MedEdWorld.org. Reflection for learning is complex and for educators, designing and assessing reflective learning remains challenging. This problem is confounded by a plethora of different approaches used in teaching the concept of reflection, including reflective essays, diaries, case studies, etc. As a result, students are confused and educators frequently lament that students just ‘don’t get it’. Recent guidance has added some clarity and a framework (Sandars 2010).

We used digital storytelling, working in partnership with Pilgrim Projects (Patient Voices Programme) to set up a Special Study Module in the 4th year (Hardy & Sumner 2010). Students were facilitated in creating a short two–three minute film based on a clinical experience of their choosing and the final results (see junior doctors stories at http://www.patientvoices.org.uk/lssc.htm) demonstrate the distillation of the experience into its very essence. The stories contain the themes of death and dying; professional choice; professionalism; patient choice; complexity of emotions within clinical uncertainty and insights into the pressures on front-line staff in modern healthcare.

Producing the stories made the students think more deeply about their clinical learning, about stereotyping in medicine, and ‘about the small details in everyday practice that could improve aspects of clinical care’, student 5. They all felt they had improved their skills in: reflection; preparing a coherent narrative; computing and information technologies; organisation and self-management and listening. ‘I expect my video to be used – this is particularly pleasing as I feel others will strongly benefit from my experiences,’ Student 4.

Digital storytelling proved to be a powerful reflective technique. The students left with a set of skills for in-depth future reflection and techniques for presenting self-analysis for appraisal and re-validation. The stories offer the opportunity to see clinical moments through the students’ lens. As teachers we gained insights into the hidden curriculum of student experiences in clinical placements. We continue to use these stories in preparing students for clinical learning.