reflective practice Essay

The following reflective essay will discuss the value of reflective practice for professionals working in health and social care.   I will briefly describe a variety of available models for reflection. I will then describe and identify Gibbs reflective cycle (1988) as the model on which to structure the essay, giving reasons as to why the model was chosen.   The essay will reflect on the study skills I have covered during this module which will be, barriers to learning, learning styles, time management, reading skills and communication and IT skills. I will then discuss how I will use these skills to improve my future learning development.

To engage in the reflective process it is essential to understand and define the concept of reflection.   Spalding (1998) and Johns (1993) both explain reflection as a means of learning from practice and experience.   This suggests that reflective practice enables us to look at our experiences and learn from them, therefore allowing us to put our acquired knowledge into practice.   Ghaye et al (2000, pg 6) explain “reflection has the potential to transform both who we are and what we are able to do, for and with others in our healthcare worlds”.   Reflective practice can help shape peoples values, which are fundamentally important as they make healthcare professionals the people they are.

Reflection allows healthcare professionals to gain a sense of situation as it occurs and therefore gain a sense of clarity.   Reflective practice permits health care professionals to assess the impact of their work on service users, families and their colleagues. This is essential for people working within health and social care as it improves clinical practice. (Ghaye et al 2000).
The development of reflective practice is the responsibility of the individual professional.   In order to make their practice as reflective as possible, it is important to create the time and space for reflection. (Thompson & Thompson 2008).   This however can be...