How to do Reflective Practice: A Guide to Self-improvement
At the end of the day, all adult learners are self learner. A key component of self learning is reflective practice, which is a key component of self learning. This act of pausing and pondering on our experiences is a treasure trove of insights that can lead to actionable strategies for improvement.
Why Reflective Practice Matters?
Reflective practice, at its core, is about understanding our experiences to learn and improve. In our everyday medical practice, reflective practice is an integral component as it allows for us to pause, think and analyze an event, learn from it and plan future action strategies.
Whether you're providing feedback on a case to a student, undergoing an appraisal at work, or even just documenting your daily experiences in a diary, reflection provides insights that lead to informed decisions and self improvement.
Benefits of Reflective Practice:
Addressing the Inner Critic: We all have that inner voice that often nudges us about what could have been done better. Reflection allows us to channel this voice productively, leading to learning and growth.
Highlighting Areas of Improvement: By thinking about our experiences, we can identify our strengths and weaknesses, which can guide our future actions.
Reinforcing Positive Experiences: Reflection reminds us of our achievements and successes, giving us the motivation to replicate them. as humans, we tend to ruminate about our negative experiences and failures more than our accomplishment. This negative cycle makes us more anxious, depressed. Reflecting on our positive experiences and accomplishments in an objective way, helps to foster a balanced, positive self image.
Learning from the Lows: While it's easier to scrutinize our missteps, understanding them prevents future mishaps. There is a great book , Black Box thinking by Mathew Syed explored how mistakes and failures can sometimes be our greatest source of learning if used correctly by reflective practice.
Frameworks to Guide Reflective Practice
If you are not used to reflective practice, then it can be daunting to start how to do it and indeed where to do it. There are no right or wrong ways to do reflective practice. Some people do it in their mind, some do it by thinking out loud with a friend or teacher, some write it down. Most professions, especially in medical field, does include some sort of reflective writing as part of their appraisal of professional growth. Writing forces the mind to slow down and think. It also demonstrates whether you have insight or not.
There are some framework available for reflective thinking. Any or all of them can be used for same or different scenarios. The purpose of all these framework, is to give us a structure, to analyze and learn from it
The ERA Cycle:
Experience: Understand the situation.
Reflection: Think about the events and your feelings.
Action: Decide on the next steps.
Driscoll’s Three What:
What? Describe the situation.
So What? Analyze the implications and learnings.
Now What? Determine the subsequent steps.
Kolb's Reflective Cycle:
Concrete Experience: Start with the event.
Reflective Observation: Think about the unique aspects.
Abstract Conceptualization: Develop new ideas based on reflections.
Active Experimentation: Apply these ideas in real-world scenarios.
Gibb's Reflective Cycle: A more comprehensive framework:
Description: Outline the experience.
Feelings: Understand your emotional response.
Evaluation: Gauge the pros and cons of the situation.
Analysis: Delve deeper into the events.
Conclusion: Determine possible alternative actions.
Action Plan: Chart out a course of action for the future.
Actionable Strategies:
Maintain a Reflection Diary: Start journaling. Not only does this capture your day-to-day experiences, but reviewing them can offer profound insights.
Regularly Schedule Reflective Sessions: Set aside time weekly or monthly to ponder on your actions and their results.
Seek Feedback: Sometimes, an outsider's perspective can provide clarity. Discuss your reflections with a mentor or a trusted colleague.
Set Clear Goals: Post-reflection, set clear objectives to guide your actions based on your insights.
Embrace Continuous Learning: Treat every experience as a lesson. By continuously engaging in reflective practice, you can adapt and evolve, ensuring personal and professional growth.
In conclusion, reflective practice is more than just a tool; it's a mindset. Embracing it can open doors to continuous growth, understanding, and improvement. As you navigate through life, remember the power of pause and ponder. Happy reflecting!
