Table 7 Structure of group reflections

Structured vs. unstructured

Structured

Preparation

 • Pre-reading [68]

 • Introduction to the process [56, 68]

Communication of objectives [105]

Ground rules

 • Emphasising confidentiality [104, 105]

 • Encouraging active participation [104]

Providing an explicit invitation to share perspectives [105].

Participants possess some degree of autonomy over reflective content [101, 102, 105] however common reflective themes include

 • Day to day activities and perspectives [18, 126]

 • Challenges [127, 128]

 • Actual case studies [129]

 • Views and experiences on a program [119]

 • Suggestions for improvement [21]

 • Student-patient interaction [68]

 • Professionalism in practice [61]

 • Ethical dilemmas [99]

 • Psychological supervision and clinical reasoning for practice [18].

Size of group

Less than 7 [62, 126, 129,130,131]

More than 7 [21, 119, 132]

Frequency

Once-off [130]

Weekly [18]

Bi-weekly [132]

Every few months [129, 133]

1 h 15 min [126]

90 min [132]

2 h 15 min [18]

Modality of reflections

In person [21, 61, 126, 133]

Online [25, 128, 134]

Video review [104, 106]

Vignettes [61]

Case studies [99]

TV shows [99]

Collaborative writing [99]

Word clouds [102]

Free discussion [118]

Role-play [118]

Activities

Role-playing [128, 134]

Vignettes [61]

Collaborative writing [135]

Clinical observation activity [86]

Assessment

Wellness scales to determine if well-being has improved [106]

Questionnaires [25, 130, 132]

Feedback survey [18, 86, 101, 105, 109, 116, 133, 134]

Informal feedback [62]

Written portfolio [18]

Thematic coding of discussion transcripts [61]

General approaches

Formal programme evaluation [18]

Survey data [68, 86]

Written feedback [68]

Semi-structured individual interviews [105]

Ungraded diary entries [99]

Structured reflection report [116]

Questionnaire [101, 116]

Validated wellness scales [106]

Focus group interviews

Observation of group interactions [118]