Reflective thought in memos to demonstrate advanced nursing practice

Abstract

Dewey first described reflective thought as a way to solve issues of perplexity in his seminal work How We Think. Dewey's work underpinned Strauss' contribution to The Discovery of Grounded Theory. Grounded theory methods are characterised by memo writing. This paper will describe how memos, in the form of slides, were employed to demonstrate advanced skill acquisition in practice by an immigrant nurse and health visitor to a panel convened by the New Zealand Nursing Council. Globalisation and migration of the nursing workforce contributes to advancement of the nursing profession in some countries. New Zealand, whose critical mass of primary health care nursing leaders is small, with no specific postgraduate primary health care qualification, benefit from the transferable skills of migrant nurse and community practitioners. Finding easier ways to demonstrate advanced practice to New Zealand’s Nursing Council would maximise the potential contribution of immigrant nurses.