Reflective Practice Essay

Reflective practice is having the capacity to reflect on your own actions. Which may mean taking the informal route that involves questioning yourself to develop your awareness of your own assumptions and thoughts or you could take the more formal route by drawing on research and theory that creates guidance and structure for good practice. This involves reviewing an experience analyzing evaluating and using it to change future outcomes. ‘By engaging in reflection people are usually engaging in a period of thinking in order to examine often complex experiences or situations’ Clark & Graham (1996, pg.26). According to Schon reflection has two paths reflecting in action (thinking on your feet) or reflecting on an action. (after the fact) ‘where
Emancipatory: This is systematic questioning process
Models of reflection:
There are many different models used in reflective practice such Graham Gibbs reflective cycle 1998, Kolb’s experiential Learning cycle, Johns 1995, Brookfield, Dewey’s (1938) 5 stage model to name but a few.
Dewey, J. (1933). How we think: A restatement of the relation of reflective thinking to the educative process. Boston: D.C. Heath and Company.

The importance of reflection for nursing homes.
Using reflective practice improves the overall quality of care given by healthcare professionals it enables them to share knowledge, solve problems or issues, and expands holistic care quality. This can come about by the sharing of knowledge, events or situations that occur during the normal working day within a nursing home environment. Reflective practice can be used as a process of identifying the truth of what they do and why they do it so they can recognize pitfalls of daily routine possibly resorting to bad habits and routines to get them through their work day. Guided reflective practice will improve work satisfaction, process and outcomes. This encourages nursing home workers such as nurses, healthcare assistants, nurses, supervisors, managers and activity coordinators etc.. to work as a team and share their knowledge and experiences for the good of the residents which strive for better outcomes
This called for a ‘critical incident analysis’ Social care module SC759. Pg. 79. After an issue was raised by staff members their was a plan put in place to observe and document the behaviors to pinpoint what exactly was happening with the resident in question, when it is happening, at what level over a certain period of time. When this period of time had elapsed there was a staff meeting held in relation to this matter discussing feeling’s on the matter, evaluation of the documentation that had been gathered about the resident an analysis of the situation was made after that there was a conclusion come to and an action plan put in place. (Gibbs reflective cycle 1988)Through following this method the nursing home was able to resolve the behavioral issues that the resident was experiencing. Problems arose from the gentleman in question having previously (prior to living in the nursing home) a set routine established in his life and liked to follow it. The resident had a time he liked to get up and showered if that time had passed he would not shower and become agitated or aggressive with staff. Or if he was brought to the dining room early he would not sit waiting for his food if food was not served on time he would want to leave and refused his dinner. As this problem went on it was affecting the resident and he was having problems in other areas as his mood was low as he was getting