Estimated study time: 8 minutes

Learning objective: Write reflection that moves beyond description to learning, change and patient benefit.

Reflection is not a diary entry or a confession. It is a structured explanation of how an experience affected your understanding, judgement or future practice. A useful reflective account usually begins with a concise description, then spends more time on analysis and action.

  1. What happened and what was my role?
  2. What did I notice, think or find difficult?
  3. What did I learn from the event, feedback or source?
  4. What changed in my understanding or practice?
  5. How will I apply the learning next time?
  6. How does this benefit patients, colleagues or service quality?

For example, after escalating a critical potassium result, a weak reflection might only describe the telephone call. A stronger reflection would explain how patient identification was confirmed, why the result required urgent communication, what communication technique was used, what documentation was completed, what feedback was received and how the experience will influence future escalation.

Learner activity

Use the workbook reflection builder to write six short sentences about one recent learning event. Ensure at least half of the writing concerns learning, change or future practice.

Key points

  • Description is only the starting point.
  • Reflection should show learning and change.
  • Link future practice to patient safety or service quality.
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