Reflection in Nursing Practice
Rebecca Taylor
(3rd year student nurse)
Learning outcomes…



Define reflection
Understand reflection in nursing
Recognise models for reflection
What is reflection?

“an active process of witnessing one’s
own experience in order to take a
closer look and explore it in depth”.
(Amulya, 1999)
Why do we reflect???

“to develop strategies for survival
throughout our lives”.
(Jasper, 2003)
Example…

A night out on the town… excessive
alcohol intake!!
Reflecting…






Description of the event
How this made you feel
Evaluating if it was good or bad
Analysing an area for learning
Coming to a conclusion
The changes you might make
Analysis of alcohol...




What is it?
How much should I drink?
Are there any short term or long term
effects?
How does it affect me physically or
psychologically?
Reflection in nursing practice…

“a process of reviewing an experience
of practice in order to describe,
analyse and evaluate, and so, inform
learning from practice”.
(Reid, 1993)
An example from practice…

An incidence of
poor patient care in
the operating
theatre.
Reflection models…

Gibb’s model (1988)
Analysis of advocacy…





What is advocacy?
Your responsibility as a nurse.
What elements need to be present?
What barriers can inhibit advocacy?
Understanding facilitates a change in
practice
Any questions???
References…







Amulya, J. (1999) What is reflective practice? Centre for Reflective Community Practice.
MIT.
Gibbs, G. (1988) Learning by doing: A guide to teaching and learning methods. Oxford.
Oxford Polytechnic.
Jasper, M. (2003) Beginning reflective practice. In: Foundations in Nursing and
Healthcare. Nelson Thornes.
Johns, C. (1994) Guided reflection. In: Palmer, A. Burns, S. and Bulman, C. (eds)
Reflective practice in nursing: The growth of the professional practitioner. Oxford.
Blackwell Science.
Reid, B. (1993) But we’re already doing it! Exploring a response to the concept of
reflective practice in order to improve it’s facilitation. Nurse Education Today. 13 pp. 305309.
Stephenson, S. (2000) Exemplars of reflection. In: Burns, S. and Bulman, C. (eds)
Reflective practice in nursing: The growth of the professional practitioner. Oxford.
Blackwell Science.
Somerville, D. and Keeling, A. (2004) A practical approach to promote reflective practice
within nursing [online] Available from: http://www.nursingtimes.net/nursingpractice/204502.article [accessed: 10th June 2011].