Reflective journals have been used as an assessment tool in clinical practice, in the fully integrated context directed learning (CDL) undergraduate program at the University of South Australia, over a period of five years. This paper reports the commonest issues evidenced within the year 2 and year 3 reflective journals. The results confirm that these are linked to the stage of development and experience of the students in both academic knowledge and clinical practice. Quotations from the journals give an insight into students' experiences of both emotional and practical skills development.