Reflective learning: a teaching strategy for critical thinking.

Most nurse educators claim that ability to critique one's clinical practice is a skill which must be acquired if nursing students are to continue to learn and develop as practitioners after they have graduated. This skill is of particular relevance for nurses who will be working independently in the community. The author reviews recent literature on critical thinking and reflective learning and identifies the results of one baccalaureate nursing school's use of reflective journals.