Objective: To test the reliability, feasibility, and responsiveness of a categorization scheme for assessing pharmacy students' levels of reflection during internships.
Methods: Pharmacy interns at Uppsala University were asked to write a reflective essay about patient counseling at the start and end of their internships. A modified version of Kember's categorization scheme for assessing the level of reflection was used to evaluate these essays.
Results: Based on their essay scores, the students' levels of reflection increased during the internship course (p < 0.001) The mean time for categorization was 3 minutes per essay. The interrater reliability of the 182 essays was kappa = 0.63.
Conclusions: The evaluation of the categorization scheme showed that it has good interrater reliability, feasibility, and responsiveness. This scheme might be useful in pharmacy practice educational settings, but needs further validation.
Keywords: assessment; pharmacy internship; reflective journals; reflective practice.