Reflective Practice Theory

Among the various reflective models, there are both pros and cons to each concerning the depth in which a clinician reflects from an experience. It is critical to note that in my opinion these reflective models would not fit every situation in life or within a clinical setting. Therefore, every situation should be analyzed to see which model will produce the best reflective approach. Obviously for more in depth situations, those models that superficially reflect would not be an optimal choice. After researching the cyclic models, I have selected the Atkins and Murphy model to utilize the concepts of reflective practice. Through this assignment I will use case study two so I can effectively utilize the concepts of reflective practice through the Atkins and Murphy model.

* establishes a system of praise and constructive criticism - rewards and improvement; grows with the organisation

The purpose of this paper will be to discuss the major philosophies that have shaped the nursing profession, how epistemologies have informed nursing science, the development of nursing philosophy, and the theoretical knowledge that has advanced the nursing body of knowledge. I will discuss how this new knowledge has influenced my perspective of the nursing profession, and how this will inform my theory-guided and reflective practice as an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN). Furthermore, I will articulate the concepts and ideas of my personal nursing philosophy and paradigm, and the congruence to the theoretical concepts and elements of Dr. Jean Watson’s Theory of Human Caring (Watson, 1979).

Reflective practice is constantly changing as it adds in the learning gained from experiences. Reflective practice links events together and compares what is already known and make a decisions on the basis of this comparison. Reflective practice helps nurses to become expert practitioners due to the fact it operates from a deep understanding of the total events. Reflective practice could also be beneficial for patients and service users as it gives better standards of patient safety and is focused on individual and also evidence based care derived from their needs.

Reflective practice is when you think about the work you have done and how well it went,

It is crucial for radiologists to enhance their professional lives by committing to life-long learning and continuing professional development in their everyday practice. (reference ahpra). Structured programs can assist practitioners in undertaking these skills; however, incorporating a self-guided reflective practice is a more complementary approach.

Reflective practice is a key part of working as a health care professional, including speech and language therapists (SLT), and will be used throughout a practitioner’s career as part of their continuing professional development. It is the practice of experiencing situations and then reflecting on them, which is how clinicians may enhance their knowledge and skills and, thus, maintain their competence throughout their career as a practicing therapist (RCSLT, 2003). It is through this reflective practice that an SLT can progress “from novice to expert” (Tarrant, 2013; p3). Furthermore, reflective practice is a skill which itself continues to be developed.

Reflective Practice (RP) is a concept embedded nowadays in most of the educational and healthcare professional curriculums in UK, but it is much more developed and almost mandatory in nursing than in any other field (Hebert, Finlay 2008, GMC, NMC, Wilson 1996). This trend is based not only on learning theories, professional requirements and patient expectation but also for the numerous benefits that have been described such as enhancing the competence of self-directed lifelong learning, professional development and critical thinking among others. This beside of some drawbacks that have been highlighted (tsingos).

The medication guideline activity was developed to address the fact I was out of practice with regards to pharmaceuticals, it addressed the gap in my knowledge and was an effective and enjoyable way for me to relearn this information. My maturity has provided me with the knowledge to understand exactly how I learn best. Writing things down repeatedly, (like drug names, classifications, and indications) is one of those ways. Rewriting notes or typing notes into a word document has been shown to be a good learning strategy for tactile or kinesthetic learners (Learning Styles: Columbia College, 2016). I know that this way works well for me when it comes to having to learn a lot of fundamental and straightforward information, and it was successful

A load of research has been done on learning and reflective practice and its effectiveness on the practitioners and one of the first people to research reflective Practice was Donald Schon in his book “The Reflective Practitioner” in 1983. Schon was an influential writer on reflection and had two main ways of identifying reflection and they were reflection in action and reflection on action.

Reflective practice is intended to help the teacher evolve and develop. It is an essential aspect of continuing professional development and is seen as a fundamental process in improving the quality of teaching3.

While working as a transporter and clinic aide at two different hospitals, I was able to interact with many patients. I always enjoyed listening to the patients and helping them when I was able. Throughout my life, I have always been fascinated with the processes that governed the human body. I feel that increasing my knowledge in the field of medicine, will equip me with more skills to impact and improve the lives of more patients.

As pointed out before, RP is a trending topic nowadays but also confusing. The ambiguity and the overlapping use of terms complicate the understanding (hebert, tsingos 2014). Boud 1985 p.8 points out that it is not a single facet term but a generic/umbrella one that involves a range of ideas and activities.

Professional knowledge is no longer viewed as just consisting of a standardised, explicit and fixed knowledge base. It is now seen as knowledge which exists in use, is ethical in its use and is changed by experience.

After reading the models of reflections I tend to lean on Schon, the reason being that his concept focuses on to use reflection as a tool to help go back to experiences whether productive experience or not. This gives the learner the ability to explore their understanding of their actions and experience, and the impact of these on themselves and others. Incorporating this into my reflective process will give me the opportunity to adopt a structured approach that models reflective practices whether successful or not to learn from my mistakes to become better in my area of practice. Modeling this if I were to ever be in the classroom will help open various ways for me to provide a framework to my students to help them apply and transfer skills