Week 3

Week 3 –

This week we are studying the History and Background of Clinical Supervision, and it got me thinking about when journaling came into play. I could not find any tangible information on this, but what I did find helped me to concrete the idea of journaling in my mind. The why to journal I understand. I get that it is a measuring tool, and a reflecting agent. That part I do understand. What I am still attempting to wrap my brain around is why a professor/CS/nurse who I don’t really know tells me to review my day and then grade me on what my perception of this is? How can I be graded on something that is supposed to come from a place of no judgement? “Guided reflective journals are a form of exploratory writing whose purpose is to stimulate student thinking about both theoretical and clinical concepts” (Bean). We are not being graded on the information – but on how we can apply this information. It is, essentially, an explanation of how we determined the outcome of our day – not just a dialogue we would have with ourselves, but an awareness of how we were influenced by our actions.

It suddenly made sense. Journaling is not something that is reflective of your day ONLY. It is a place where the connection is made between what we study and how we apply this knowledge. A light bulb moment for me. It is where theory meets practice, and how we either successfully apply this knowledge or where we can learn from it. Our journal writing needs to be more than descriptive – it also needs to come from a place of reflection. If I only recorded events of the day, this would not help me to learn how to effectively care for my clients. It would be clinical and not therapeutic. I do not wish my journal to be a step by step care guide, but instead be a place of refection of my day, my successes and my failures, and where I can go to learn from these.

Reference:

Bean, John C. Engaging Ideas: The Professor’s Guide to Integrating Writing, Critical Thinking, and Active Learning in the Classroom. SanFrancisco: Jossey, 2001. Print. Jossey-Bass Higher and Adult Educ. Ser.