SAP - Reflective cycle

Question 1

Reflection - define

Answer 1

It is a process that includes review, interpretation, and understanding of experiences to guide present and future behaviour. (Wald & Reis, 2010)

Reflection is a metacognitive process that occurs before, during, and after situations with the purpose of developing greater understanding of both the self and the situation so that future encounters with the situation are informed from previous encounters.
(Sandars, 2009)

Paying deliberate, systematic and analytical attention to one’s own actions, feelings and thinking in relation to particular experiences for the purpose of enhancing perceptions of, and responses to current and future experience.

First, a process by which experience is brought into consideration and secondly, deriving from the first, the creation of meaning and conceptualisation from experience, and the capacity to look at things as potentially other than they appear

(Brockbank & McGill, 1998)

Question 2

Kolb’s experiential learning cycle

Answer 2

1. concrete experience - do something
2. reflective observation - think about it
3. abstract conceptualization - make conclusions
4. active experimentation - plan ahead

Question 3

Three Stage Model of Reflection:

Answer 3

1. SELECTION AND DESCRIPTION
   what happened?
2. INTEGRATION
   why did you react as you did? what have you learnt?
3. ANALYSIS
   how will you apply your learning? why does it matter?

Question 4

Why is reflection important in medicine?

Answer 4

Evidence-based practice - analyse best evidence

Improves clinical reasoning and diagnostic decision-making

Helps develop a questioning attitude  continually update knowledge and skills

Patient-centred care – recognize own values and assumptions and how these affect relationship with patient and clinical decision

Promotes empathy

Underlies the competencies expected in a reflective practitioner:
identify strengths, deficiencies and limits in one’s knowledge and experience
demonstrate a lifelong commitment to reflective learning

Question 5

Good Medical Practice

Answer 5

22. You should regularly reflect on your own performance, your professional values and your contribution to any teams in which you work.
    You should ask for, and be prepared to act on, feedback from colleagues and patients, including through the outcomes of audits, appraisals and performance reviews, and through patient complaints and comments.

Question 6

Experiential Learning Cycle - 3-stage model

Answer 6

22. You should regularly reflect on your own performance, your professional values and your contribution to any teams in which you work.
    You should ask for, and be prepared to act on, feedback from colleagues and patients, including through the outcomes of audits, appraisals and performance reviews, and through patient complaints and comments.

Question 7

Experiential Learning Cycle - 4-stage model

Answer 7

Experience – Reflection – Abstraction/theory – Experimentation/planning

(Kolb’s Experiential Learning Cycle)

Question 8

Barriers to reflection

Answer 8

Lack of time
Fear of exploring things that have gone badly
Personal interpretation in a public forum – this can lead to writing superficial/perfunctory reflections
Unsure how to reflect
Unclear/ambivalent intent – do you really want to do this?
Lack of motivation to complete meaningful reflections – tick box exercise