Key points are not available for this paper at this time.
Student journals are used at all levels of education to facilitate academic and personal learning. This paper describes the experience of journal writing from both a student and teacher perspective, in a communication skills course for first-year medical students at Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada. As one of the requirements of the course, students described their individual reactions to each weekly session in a journal. Teachers responded to each journal entry. Guidelines for journal usage in this course are described. The content of the journals includes topic-related information, comments concerning the student's individual experience of the course, and personal thoughts related to life experiences and becoming a doctor. A summary of evaluations of journal writing by teachers and students is presented. We have observed that journal writing facilitates a personal and reflective perspective to the first-year medical curriculum for both students and teachers. Journal writing appears to initiate and encourage self-awareness by providing a safe place for students to describe their experiences and relationships and to question their own values and beliefs. In the journal, through a mutual sharing of thoughts and feelings, barriers between students and teachers are diminished, leading to enhanced rapport and communication.
Ashbury et al. (Sat,) studied this question.