Reflection, Empowerment, Evaluation and Identity Formation

The REIF project examined whether professional competencies increase during nursing education or training, whether reflective ability develops, whether a clear professional identity emerges, and to what extent burnout or “cool out” plays a role during training.
To investigate this, cohorts of 2014 nursing students and trainee nurses from cooperating nursing schools were surveyed at two time points: T0 (students at the beginning of the 2nd semester and trainees in Spring 2015) and T1 (students at the end of the 6th semester and trainees in Spring 2017). Data collected included demographics and responses to several instruments: FKK (Questionnaire on Competence and Control Beliefs), GRAS (Groningen Reflection Ability Scale), BIP (Bochum Inventory for Occupational Personality Description), M&R Larcher Questionnaire for burnout status, and reactions to a case study.
Participation rates were 91% among students and 72% among trainees for both survey points. Both groups showed similar results across the scales: a subclinical risk of burnout in the majority, average reflective ability, and no significant differences in competence or control beliefs.