Table 6 Types of group reflections

Dialogues [23,24,25]

Dialogues are a form of experiential and affective approach to promote new ways of understanding oneself and the world, new possibilities and new questions.

They focus on the subjective aspects and encourage the sharing of authority, expertise and perspectives between traditional teachers and learners.

These promote reflection and reflexivity by creating space for learners to see one another as equal relational partners, and to question assumptions, power dynamics and structural inequities beyond medicine.

Debriefings [62, 87, 89, 104, 109, 115, 121,122,123,124,125]

A facilitated discussion between 2 or more individuals, revolving around sharing and examining information after a specific event has taken place. Built based on experiential learning theory and reflective practice, it is used to reflect on action and identify areas for improvement.

The typical agreed upon process:

 1. Emotional reaction. To allow participants to ‘cool down’ and vent strong feelings that may otherwise interfere with the discussion.

 2. Analysis. To find out what happened and why.

 3. Generalisation. To integrate the simulation experience into real world clinical practice for performance improvement.

It is recommended that debriefing takes place immediately after an event, as the immediate recall and availability of those involved will benefit the reflection.

 • Warm debriefs happen with a slight delay, but within hours of the event occurring.

 • Cold debriefs occur days or weeks after the event has occurred.

Focus groups [26, 28,29,30, 120]

A form of group interview aimed at capturing the perspectives of participants in order to explore and generate data on a narrowly focused topic.

It usually takes place in a ‘permissive, non-threatening environment’. It can be used at the preliminary or exploratory stages of program development.