Nursing Reflective Essay

1050 Words3 Pages

“The ultimate value of life depends upon awareness and the power of contemplation rather than upon mere survival” (Aristotle, n.d.) Reflection is a process that begins with looking back on a situation thinking about it, learning from it and then using the new knowledge to help you in similar situations in the future. We need to evaluate through reflection to examine whether change is needed. We can then decide what action is needed and what we would do the next time we are faced with a similar situation. It might not necessarily be something you have done wrong, it may well be you were happy with the outcome of a situation you had some input into and would do again. It may have been something you did differently that had a positive result and Continued Professional Development is now an important part of ongoing registration with the NMC and is essential in maintaining professional standards. In order to revalidate, nurses must write 5 reflective accounts within a 3 year period and each reflective account must explain what the nurse has learnt from the CPD activity and explain how it relates to the Code of Conduct and in particular the 4 themes of Prioritising People, Practicing Effectively, Preserving Safety and Promoting Professionalism and Trust.. Nurses also have to discuss the written reflective accounts with another NMC registered nurse coving the 5 reflective accounts Section 9.2 of the NMC code of conduct asks nurses to “gather and reflect on feedback from a variety of sources, using it to improve your practice and performance” (NMC, 2015) This is why the NMC promotes reflective practice as it ensures the nurse is practicing within their competency and in a safe manner while identifying any areas for improvement in their practice Reflective practice also makes the nurses more accountable for their actions.. (NMC, 2015) Reflective writing is an important feature of professional 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 area that could be

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