Reflections

So the recent facade is GMC validations. Henceforth, more and more medical schools are making reflections an informal or even formal piece which medical students have to write about...

I was a believer of quantity but now I am tending to think of quality i.e. reflections as well. Might as well start it now as reflections are something doctors have to do for the rest of their lives!

As always, there's a mnemonic for everything.. even for REFLECT


R = Research
E = Experience
F = Feelings
L = Learning
E = Evaluate
C = Continue
T = Teach

The steps in the model can be ascended or descended depending on the step the user feels most comfortable on. The steps are as follows:

Research
Any task must be researched before being attempted. For example, there is little point in recording a blood pressure if the results mean nothing. Research may involve ascertaining best practice or performing a literature search. For non-medical prescribing this may mean researching a drug you wish to use or a piece of equipment.

Experience
This may involve repeating the task until competency is achieved or it may mean drawing on other people?s experience to achieve best practice. Do you need more research?

Feelings
How did the task make you feel? Did you gain from it or did you feel that it made you feel uncomfortable and affected your confidence? Do you need more experience?

Learning
What have you learnt from the task? Do you feel confident about achieving results that will make you feel confident or do you need to re-examine your feelings?

Evaluate
When you have considered all of the above, are you able to carry out the task with a degree of confidence? Do you need to go back down the ladder?

Continue
Having completed all the steps, you should now feel able to complete the task without assistance. If you feel unsure, you need to decide which stage of the ladder to return to.

Teach
When you have reached this step, you should be skilled enough to teach the task.

reflect - research, experience, feeling, learning, evaluate, continue, teach

I'll keep my reflections i.e. blog short next time because I think short and sweet things make it better to absorb.