Table 5 Indications of group reflections

Studying change [54]

Accessing the hidden curriculum [18, 54]

Synthesis of different perspectives [61].

Provide an avenue for formative assessment [105]

To increase the social belonging of students [106, 116, 118]

Development of a cohesive learning community or social network of support [28, 84, 114, 115, 119, 120]

Follow-up to challenging scenarios [81]

Provide a learning experience to work through team dynamic issues [86]

• Provide a space and time to examine processes of learning within clinical practice

• Draws attention to more subtle, yet important changes in clinical practices.

• Illuminates the way clinical decision-making is influenced by knowledge domains, ideas and values underpinning practice.

• Provides insights into aspects not amenable using more conventional quantitative methods.

• Includes personal and group feedback during the reflective process.

• Identifies the motivations behind learning

• Identifies, makes sense of and addresses cognitive dissonance during emotionally challenging situations.

• Highlight different ways of knowing and learning

• Reflective peers can be used as instructional resources as learning intentions and criteria for success are shared.

• Group conversations evolve into quasi and reflective thinking, where participants integrate other perspectives into their own.

• Stimulates engagement with others which can improve academic performance, health and well-being of students.

• A deeper understanding of relevant concepts is co-constructed and co-developing strategies for effective implementation in context.

• Deepening and refinement of meaning that the individual and group apply to their practice.

• Learning is enhanced through interactive learning and support that occurs in these networks.

• As a medium to educate others

• To provide emotional relief to those involved with the challenging event.

• Particularly useful introduction to dealing with future team conflicts in practice.