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Why is reflection in nursing important
Reflective essay on importance of reflection in nursing practice
Reflective essay on importance of reflection in nursing practice
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Reflection is an essential component in the development of professional competencies and critical thinking skills in nursing practice. Reflection in the context of nursing, has been described as a way of exploring an experience in order to look for the prospect of other explanations and alternative methods to doing things. It is through reflection that one can evaluate and identify their strengths and weaknesses to encourage both personal and professional growth and development. In this paper, I will be discussing how student nurses learn and develop from reflection, the emotional response and self-awareness as a nurse, and the appropriate way to reflect as a nurse. The reflective process has been credited to act as a medium to encourage …show more content…
Reflection encourages the student to acknowledge and act upon their strengths and weaknesses in their ability to make clinical decisions (3). As the student reflects it allows them to focus their attention on areas where they have both succeeded and struggled in the clinical setting and apply direct relation to how much knowledge they have gained from the experience (3). Furthermore, whilst it also also allows the student the ability to pose questions, seek clarification of specific events, find meaning and discuss matters of concern and interest with their preceptors in their reflective writing (3). Nonetheless, it is not until the student has achieved the additional knowledge that they will fully understand the limitation of their own practice (3). We often replay situations in our minds, thinking back on what occurred, reviewing interpersonal aspects of events, and maybe even second guessing our own actions during an event. This is when nurses learn most, as they attempt to make decision and reflect upon their actions (3). Self-reflections in nursing is something that a professional nurse considers throughout his or her entire career (7). By writing reflections the nurse can distance herself from the experience, enabling more objective writing in the reflection …show more content…
Especially since nurses in the course of their day-to-day work need to be able to act autonomously and make appropriate clinical judgements (9). Reflection can be of value in making sense of difficult situations, as it allows one to clarify the situation for themselves and the outcome is to have a changed perspective which enables the nurses to improve his or her clinical judgement (2). Thus why, it is imperative nurses engage in lifelong reflection which recognises its value for professional growth and development and improvement in the quality of patient care (7). The Gibb’s model of reflection, for example is a great tool that nurses can use daily to help improve these skills. Reflective writing in nursing is a part of both theory and practice (10). At the beginning of their nursing education and career, nurses are taught to ask patients many open-ended questions and engage in meaningful dialogue that offers reflection (7). Nurses can continue to ask these open-ended, reflective questions and relate them to their critical decision making and patient care standards (7). Nurses need to continue this self-dialogue to promote positive development both professionally and personally
This assignment focuses on an incident which was experienced during a community placement. The patient suffered from bowel cancer, my mentor and I were visiting her to change her dressing. The names of people have been changed to ensure confidentiality Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC, 2008). Gibbs (1988) cited in Jasper (2013) will be used as the reflective model because it is simple and, easy to understand. Through the model’s six key stages I will describe my experience and how I maintained dignity while giving personal care to patients in the community. Writing a reflective account makes one relive their thoughts and, feelings and make appropriate changes when required (Howaston-Jones, 2013).
On the 1st of November 2013, I performed my first simulation on the module, Foundation Skills for Nursing. This simulation was on checking for vital signs in patients particularly, measuring the blood pressure (BP) which is the force of blood vessels against the walls of the vessels (Marieb and Hoehn, 2010). We also measured the temperature, pulse and respiratory (TPR) rates of a patient. This simulation’s objective was to engage us in practising some basic observation techniques taken on patients in and out of hospitals and to familiarise us on some of the tasks we will be performing when in practise. I will be applying the “What”, “So what”, and “Now what” model of reflection in nursing by Driscoll (2000).
Burns, S. Bulman, C. Palmer, A. (1997) Reflective Practice in Nursing - The growth of the professional practitioner. London: Blackwell Science.
Reflection has its importance in clinical practice; we always seek to be successful and that can be achieved by learning every day of our life through experiences we encounter. In that way we can reconsider and rethink our previous knowledge and add new learning to our knowledge base so as to inform our practice. Learning new skills does not stop upon qualifying; this should become second nature to thinking professionals as they continue their professional development throughout their careers (Jasper, 2006). According to Rolfe et al. (2001), reflection does not merely add to our knowledge, it also challenges the concepts and theories by which we try to make sense of that knowledge. Acquiring knowledge through reflection is modern way of learning from practice that can be traced back at least to the 1930s and the work of John Dewey, an American philosopher and educator who was the instigator of what might be called ''discovery learning'' or learning from experience. He claimed that we learn by doing and that appreciating what results from what we do leads to a process of developing knowledge, the nature and importance of which then we must seek to interpret (Rolfe et al., 2001).
The purpose of this essay is to reflect and critically study an incident from a clinical setting whilst using a model of reflection. This will allow me to analyse and make sense of the incident and draw conclusions relating to personal learning outcomes. The significance of critical analysis and critical incidents will briefly be discussed followed by the process of reflection using the chosen model. The incident will then be described and analysed and the people involved introduced. (The names of the people involved have been changed to protect their privacy) and then I will examine issues raised in light of the recent literature relating to the incident. My essay will include a discussion of communication, interpersonal skills used in the incident, and finally evidence based practice. I will conclude with explaining what I have learned from the experience and how it will change my future actions.
According to Bandman & Bandman (1995), critical thinking is defined as the rational examination of ideas, inferences, assumptions, principles, arguments, conclusions, issues, statements, beliefs and actions. In this subject ‘Critical Thinking in Nursing’ has emphasized critical thinking as an essential nursing skill and its definition of critical thinking have evolved over the years. In short, the general definition of critical thinking is self-directed, self-disciplined, self-monitored and self-corrective thinking. Every nurses must cultivate rigorous standards for critical thinking, however they cannot avoid completely the situatedness and structures of the clinical traditions and practices. They must make decisions and act quickly according to
“Emotional Intelligences and Reflective Practice are Integral Components of Building a Therapeutic Relationship in Nursing”
This essay will explore the authors meaning of reflection, how various reflective styles can benefit the practitioners within their settings, and how important reflection is within Early Years Practice. According to Appleby (2010, p.10), reflection is a generic term which describes various behaviours involving feelings, and thinking about thoughts and experiences, in order to examine issues and develop, new understandings and insights. Reflection within practice allows the practitioner to develop a sense of awareness around their daily activities, and helps them to evaluate how they could evolve these activities further, if the given opportunity was to arise again. Similarly, keeping a reflective journal
Emotional intelligence and reflective practice are integral components of building a therapeutic relationship in nursing
The ability to become reflective in practice has become a necessary skill for health professionals. This is to ensure that health professionals are continuing with their daily learning and improving their practice. Reflective practice plays a big part in healthcare today and is becoming increasingly noticed.
Reflection is a key element of the human learning process. It can be used to justify aspects of practice and legitimise the knowledge gained from it, as opposed to traditional forms of learning.
It may have been something you did differently that had a positive result and you may conclude you would do it again upon reflection. The most important part of reflection is making sense of situations and events that occur so that our decision making and any actions we take lead to good, effective practice. Nurses have to keep a record of their continued professional development. At annual reviews, nurses are able to present evidence of their development through a portfolio which should contain reflective accounts of their practice. These reflective accounts will help them identify strengths and weaknesses, highlight their performance, improve their skills and highlight any areas that could be developed.
The following essay is a reflective paper on an event that I encountered as a student nurse during my first clinical placement in my first year of study. The event took place in a long term facility. This reflection is about the patient whom I will call Mrs. D. to protect her confidentiality. Throughout this essay I will be using LEARN model of reflection. I have decided to reflect on the event described in this essay since I believe that it highlights the need for nurses to have effective vital signs ‘assessment skills especially when treating older patients with complex medical diagnoses.
Reflection is a significant component of pre-registration education (Davis et al.2000). Hillard (2006) claims that for practitioners to learn from an experience they need to go beyond description and should reflect on their experiences in practice as this could potentially uncover any underlying influences, motivations and knowledge. Reflecting on an experience could then be identified as a process to bridging the gap between theory and practice (Bulman & Schutz, 2004).
Help improved my clinical skills and professional development, made me proactive and thus have learnt that reflection is an important tool for student nurse to improve on their practice.