Reflection

INTRODUCTION

For this assignment I plan to reflect upon an incident that I have recently been involved in whilst working in clinical area. I plan to discuss my thoughts and feelings of the incident also the ethical issues that cropped up. For the protection of those involved, all names have been changed as per confidentiality guidelines determined by NMC (2008).
The incident I shall reflect upon concerns the suprapubic catheterization of a deaf gentleman in chronic retention of urine, against recommendations of the consultant.
Many legal and ethical issues arose, but due to the limitations within my word count I aim to focus upon autonomy and consent (and maybe paternalism) relating to my patient.
Reflective practice provides health professionals with clear instructions on how to analyze situations and clinical experiences, the system is described as an internal examination of a said concern or experience.
In order to effectively reflect upon the incident I describe I plan to structure it around Gibbs model (1988) of reflection. I chose this model as it a simple yet comprehensive framework for reflection. It follows a cyclical pattern suggesting that it is an ongoing process.

What is reflection?

Reflective practice can be described as a way to look at experiences with a view to improve the way in which we work, with greater confidence as a proactive practitioner.
Fernandez (1997) suggests that reflection is an educational tool used to help bridge any gaps between theory and practice.
Reid (1993) suggests reflection as a process of analyzing our own experiences of practice in order to make sense of it, explore more appropriate ways to approach it, and therefore inform learning about practice.
Jasper (2003) believes that reflection enables us to identify our skills and limitations in order to understand and develop to become safe, competent practitioners. Our experiences are the starting point and reflecting upon them triggers learning.

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