Nursing is a profession that requires its practitioners to be constantly learning and growing. Reflective practice is one of the best ways for nurses to deepen their understanding of their own practice and improve their clinical skills.
Reflective practice involves taking the time to reflect on one’s own experiences, thoughts, and feelings in order to learn from them. It is a way of critically analyzing one’s own practice in order to identify areas for improvement.
Nurses can use reflective practice to examine their own biases and prejudices, as well as their assumptions about patients and their care. By taking the time to reflect on their own beliefs and values, nurses can become more aware of how these might impact their care of patients.
Reflective practice can also help nurses to identify areas where they need more education or training. By critically evaluating their own practice, nurses can identify gaps in their knowledge and skills, and seek out opportunities to learn more.
In order to be effective, reflective practice must be done on a regular basis. It is not enough to simply reflect on one’s own experiences after the fact; nurses must make a commitment to regularly taking the time to reflect on their practice.
The best way to do this is to set aside some time each day, or each week, for reflection. During this time, nurses should allow themselves to free-associate about their experiences and thoughts without judgement. They should then take some time to write down their reflections in a journal or notebook.
Regular reflective practice will help nurses to develop a deeper understanding of their own practice, and identify areas for improvement. It can also help nurses to maintain their clinical skills and knowledge, and prevent burnout.
“Reflection is deliberate thinking applied to an experience in order to comprehend the significance of it for the individual” (Schutz, 2007). The nursing profession requires reflective practice. Despite the fact that there isn’t much evidence-based information about the advantages of reflectively practicing (Schutz, 2007), there are several advantages linked with reflective practice and resulting in a whole patient approach, allowing nurses to give better care.
Reflective practice assists nurses with exploring and understanding their own values and beliefs so that they can be mindful of how these might influence the care they provide (Kolb, 1984). In other words, it helps them to ‘know themselves’. It also allows nurses to make connections between theory and practice which can result in a greater depth of understanding (Boyd & Fales, 1983).
Reflective practice can take many different forms but generally includes some form of journaling or written reflection, discussion with a colleague, or mentorship (Schutz, 2007). There are many different models of reflective practice but one of the most well-known is Kolb’s Experiential Learning Cycle which consists of four stages: concrete experience, observation and reflection, formation of abstract concepts, and testing in new situations (Kolb, 1984).
Although there are many benefits to reflective practice, there can also be some challenges. One of the main challenges is time; nurses are already working long hours and may not have time to commit to reflection (Schutz, 2007). Another challenge is that some nurses may find it difficult to be open and honest about their own values and beliefs (Kolb, 1984).
Despite the challenges, reflective practice is an important aspect of nursing. It allows nurses to improve their clinical skills, better understand their patients, and provide holistic care.
There are numerous models accessible to utilize in order to reflect on circumstances within a nurse’s practice and assist in the evaluation of what was accomplished well as well as what may be improved. The Gibb’s reflective cycle is a popular technique for reflecting. It’s a user-friendly model that encourages clear description of the problem, feelings, evaluation, analysis, findings, and conclusions while also including suggestions for how you would act differently if the problem occurred again (Ashby, 2006).
This model can be used to reflect on a interaction with a patient. For example, you could describe the situation of the interaction, how you felt during it, what went well and what could be improved, and then create an action plan for next time. This is just one way that reflective practice can be used to improve nursing care.
There are many benefits to using reflective practice in nursing. It can help nurses to maintain high standards of care, as they are constantly critiquing their own practice. It also encourages life-long learning, as nurses reflect on their practice and identify areas where they need to update their knowledge or skills. Additionally, it can help to build empathy and communication skills, as nurses think about how their actions affect patients and their families.
“Nurse education has a lot of faith in the idea of reflective practice,” according to Page and Meerabeau (2000, p.366). In nursing school, reflective practice is employed right away. “Reflective practice is being discussed in nursing education classes, conferences, and journals, as well as being featured elements of continuing education programs” (Ruth-Sahd 2003 p.489).
Reflective practice can be defined as “a process of learning from experience, through the systematic and critical reflection on that experience” (Boyd & Fales, 1983 p.444). It allows nurses to make meaning of their clinical experiences, to identify areas in which they need further development, and to plan how they will improve their practice (Boyd & Fales, 1983; Page & Meerabeau, 2000).
Reflective practice has been found to have a number of benefits for both nursing students and qualified nurses. In a study of undergraduate nursing students, reflective practice was found to improve self-confidence and academic performance (Hoffman, 2004). For qualified nurses, reflective practice has been found to lead to improved patient care (Dossey, 2010). A number of different models of reflective practice have been developed, and these will be discussed later in this essay.
There are, however, some criticisms of reflective practice. Some have argued that it is too individualistic, and does not take into account the wider context in which nurses work (Dossey, 2010). It has also been argued that reflective practice can lead to “paralysis by analysis”, where nurses spend so much time reflecting on their practice that they do not actually get any work done (Dossey, 2010).
