Reflecting on clinical practice: hectoring talk or reality?

Area of Science:

• Nursing
• Clinical Practice
• Healthcare Education

Background:

• Reflection is a valuable tool for practitioners to analyze clinical practice.
• Bridging the theory-practice gap is a persistent challenge in nursing.
• Generating nursing theory from practical experience is crucial for professional development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the background and relevance of reflection in nursing.
• To examine reflection's role in reducing the theory-practice gap.
• To explore how reflection can generate theory from clinical practice.

Main Methods:

• Literature review on reflection in clinical practice.
• Analysis of clinical exemplars through reflective practice.
• Application of Carper's 'Patterns of Knowing' as a framework.

Main Results:

• Reflection enhances the exploration of clinical practice.
• Carper's framework helps identify tacit nursing knowledge.
• The process of reflection can be critically evaluated.

Conclusions:

• Reflection is essential for nursing practice and theory development.
• Integrating reflection can improve the theory-practice relationship.
• Personal experiences enrich the critical discussion of reflective processes.