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Anxiety, accuracy and reflection: the limits of professional development
1Institute of Nursing Studies, University of Hull, England.
Journal of Advanced Nursing
|November 1, 1992
Summary
Reflection is crucial for nursing expertise but can be flawed due to memory and anxiety. Strategies to reduce anxiety and memory load can enhance accurate reflection-on-practice for nurses.
Area of Science:
- Nursing Education
- Cognitive Psychology
- Professional Development
Background:
- Reflection is vital for developing and maintaining nursing expertise in both theory and practice.
- Difficulties associated with reflection in nursing are often overlooked.
- Understanding the cognitive processes underlying reflection is essential for improving nursing practice.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the role of reflection in nursing.
- To relate reflection to information-processing models of human memory.
- To explore factors influencing the accuracy of reflection-on-practice, particularly anxiety.
Main Methods:
- Literature review and theoretical analysis.
- Examination of information-processing accounts of human memory.
- Discussion of the impact of memory and anxiety on reflective accuracy.
Main Results:
- Reflection is mediated by human memory, which can introduce inaccuracies.
- Anxiety significantly impacts the accuracy of reflection-on-practice.
- Reflection, as a process, is inherently flawed.
Conclusions:
- Accurate reflection-on-practice is challenging due to memory limitations and anxiety.
- Tactics to enhance reflection include reducing anxiety and memory task burden.
- Further research into cognitive factors influencing nursing reflection is warranted.