Examples of Reflective Writing
Example 1
I arrived on the ward at 7:30 ready to begin a 12-hour shift. After receiving handover,
my mentor assigned me the ob of bathing !r " with the he#$ of a hea#thcare
assistant. !r " has %reut&fe#dt-'a(ob disease )%'*+, a $rogressive disease of the
nervous system with ra$id deterioration due to s$ongiform ence$ha#o$athy. ,e is not
e-$ected to #ive to %hristmas, even though he is on#y 1. years o#d. ,e is menta##y
aware of what is going on but is $hysica##y unab#e to demonstrate activities of dai#y
#iving, inc#uding eating and drin(ing, has #imited communication s(i##s and is doub#y
incontinent. ,e is unsafe on his feet so mobi#ises with a whee#chair.
I a$$roached !r "/s bed and as(ed his consent to ta(e him for a bath. 0hi#e the
bath was running we began he#$ing him to undress. ,e #oo(ed rather nervous. At the
thought of myse#f being in his $osition, being the same age as him, I began to fee#
embarrassed too. I thought that I cou#d not $ossib#y be a $rofessiona# individua# if I
#et my embarrassment and sym$athy get in the way of my nursing care.
0e assisted !r " into the bath and started his wash. I (new he was uncomfortab#e
and wanted to be ab#e to wash himse#f, but was unab#e to do so. I was finding it
difficu#t to #oo( him in the eye, es$ecia##y when it came to washing his genita#ia. I
tried to ease this by ma(ing conversation, but in a way this made matters worse.
After the bath we dried !r ", dressed him and returned him in the whee#chair to bed.
1o the hea#thcare assistant it was another ob done, but the fee#ings I had afterwards,
as I am sure was the case with !r ", stayed with me for some time.
1his ref#ective account $rovides a good descri$tion of the nurse/s fee#ings but it does
not go much beyond that. 0hat additiona# information is needed to deve#o$ it2
Ada$ted from 'as$er, !. 2003. "eginning 3ef#ective 4ractice: 5oundations in 6ursing and ,ea#th
%are. %he#tenham: 6e#son 1hornes.
studySMART@gcu.ac.uk
Example 2
!rs 'ames had been admitted to the ward fo##owing a fa## and had mu#ti$#e bruising
and cuts to her body. 1hroughout her time on the ward she had been mi#d#y
confused, with a tendency to wander unsu$ervised. As stated by !c%onne## )1..7+,
this is a maor concern for nurses within hos$ita#s and care faci#ities. 0e were to#d
that !rs 'ames was unsteady on her feet and shou#d not attem$t to wa#( on her own
without assistance. 1his is reinforced by the wor( of 8#iver et a# )2001+ who state that
greater disabi#ity may resu#t from an-iety and #oss of confidence fo##owing a fa##.
1his $iece of ref#ective writing demonstrates the use of conce$ts to e-$#ain what
ha$$ened. 6ote that this a##ows the reader to demonstrate awareness of
$rofessiona# va#ues, and the abi#ity to transfer #earning into a $rofessiona# $ractice.
9-am$#es of understanding that you might draw u$on in your ref#ective writing cou#d
inc#ude $ractice guide#ines, $rofessiona# codes of conduct, or (now#edge about
s$ecific diseases:conditions.
Ada$ted from 'as$er, !. 2003. "eginning 3ef#ective 4ractice: 5oundations in 6ursing and ,ea#th
%are. %he#tenham: 6e#son 1hornes.
studySMART@gcu.ac.uk
Example 3
I wi## use a ref#ective mode# to discuss how I have achieved the necessary #eve# of
com$etence in my nurse training $rogramme. 1he ref#ective mode# I have chosen to
use is ;ibbs mode# );ibbs 1.77+. 1he c#inica# s(i## I have chosen to ref#ect on is the
administration of Intramuscu#ar )I!+ inections. I have chosen this as within my first
c#inica# $#acement this was a wide#y used method of drug administration and I
became invo#ved in the $rocess of I! inections. I therefore researched the to$ic of
I! inections and my (now#edge within this area deve#o$ed.
1he site used in the I! inection was the g#uteus ma-imus, this the most common#y
used site for the administration of I! inections );reenway 200<, 0or(man 1...+.
1he g#uteus ma-imus area is both thic( and f#eshy with a good b#ood su$$#y )0atson
2000+. It is #ocated in the hi$ area and forms the buttoc( )0atson 2000+. It has been
noted by 0atson )2000+ that the g#uteus ma-imus is near the sciatic nerve and
;reenway )200<+ suggests that this $resents a ris( of threat of inury in the
administration of I! inections. 0hen I administered the I! inection to the $atient, I
inected into the g#uteus ma-imus musc#e, as the evidence sti$u#ates this is best
$ractice.
1he first stage of ;ibbs )1.77+ mode# of ref#ection re=uires a descri$tion of events. I
was as(ed to administer a drug to a $atient via I! inection. I had observed this
c#inica# s(i## on a variety of occasions and had $revious#y administered an I!
inection under su$ervision. 8n this occasion I was being observed by two =ua#ified
nurses, one of which was my mentor. 1he drug had been drawn u$ and was ready to
be administered and the $atient consented to have a student administer the
inection. !y mentor was ta#(ing me through the $rocedure ste$ by ste$ and
informed me that I shou#d use an a#coho# wi$e to c#eanse the inection site, when the
other nurse interru$ted and said that this was not necessary. 1his was in front of the
$atient, who then re=uested that the a#coho# wi$e was omitted as on $revious
occasions this had caused a stinging sensation. !y mentor said that this was
acce$tab#e and I continued to administer the inection, omitting the use of the a#coho#
wi$e. 8n the $revious occasions when I had administered I! inections I had not
c#eansed the site and had never been instructed to ado$t this $ractice.
A#though =uite we## written and referenced, this e-tract is a #itt#e too descri$tive.
1here is no c#ear ana#ysis of events and, after the initia# reference to ;ibbs, it doesn/t
$articu#ar#y a$$#y the mode#. It cou#d be im$roved with a more critica# a$$roach and
by moving beyond descri$tion to the #ater stages of ref#ection > a discussion of the
wider conte-t )the why+, a$$#ication of theory $erha$s, and some thoughts on what
action cou#d be ta(en to $erform better in the future. 1here is very #itt#e about what
the student learned from the e-$erience.
Ada$ted from ?tudent 6urse. 200@. 3ef#ection on a %#inica# ?(i## Aon#ineB Avai#ab#e from:
htt$:::www.studentnurse.org.u(:ref#ection.htm#
studySMART@gcu.ac.uk
Example 4
1he $ur$ose of this essay is to ref#ect u$on an as$ect of my $rofessiona# $ractice or
deve#o$ment that I have encountered throughout my time as a student nurse. 5or the
$ur$ose of ref#ection the essay sha## be written in the first $erson. In accordance with
the 6!% )2002+ %ode of $rofessiona# conduct, confidentia#ity sha## be maintained
and a## names have been changed to $rotect identity. 1he $ur$ose of ref#ection as
stated by 'ohnCs )1..@+ is to $romote desirab#e $ractice through the $ractitionerCs
understanding and #earning about his:her #ived e-$eriences. I have decided to ref#ect
u$on the first time that I gave a nursing handover and in order to structure my
ref#ection I have decided to use 'ohnCs )1..@+ mode# of ref#ection. 1his mode#
encourages $ractitioners to wor( through a series of ref#ective cues, the #ast of which
is concerned with $ersona# #earning. 'ohnCs )1..@+ mode# $rovides a good e-am$#e
of an a$$roach to ref#ection on action )or ref#ection on $ractice+. 3ef#ection on action,
which ta(es $#ace after the event, a##ows the $ractitioner to revisit an e-$erience with
the intention of e-$#oring and #earning from an activity. 3ef#ection on action is
$articu#ar#y significant to nursing students, as it is often the basis of forma#
assessment.
It was my fina# $#acement of my course in a chi#drenCs ward. I was wor(ing towards
$erformance #eve# @ which invo#ved wor(ing inde$endent#y within a su$ervised
environment. I had been caring for one $atient during my shift, a 12 year o#d gir#
%#aire who had been admitted for treatment of her diabetes. A#though I had been
caring for her for the duration of my shift I was un$re$ared to give the ne-t shift a
nursing handover. I assumed that my mentor wou#d do it as she had been doing it on
a## of my $revious shifts. ,owever on this occasion my mentor said to me to do it at
the #ast minute. I #istened to her giving the handover for her $atients then when it
came to mine I $anic(ed and got information mi-ed u$. I started with basic
information about %#aire such as name, date of birth and reason for admission.
Dnfortunate#y I became f#ustered after that and it was c#ear to both my mentor and
the other staff nurse that I was out of my de$th and needed he#$. !y mentor then
too( over and continued the handover.
I therefore decided to action $#an to deve#o$ my nursing (now#edge in this area. I
#oo(ed at various nursing ourna#s detai#ing how to give effective handovers. I a#so
used the advice that I found in the nursing ourna#s to $#an out how I wou#d give
handovers. I a#so continued to give handovers on the ward. At first I wrote down a##
the information that I wanted to convey to the receiving nurse and e-$#ained to the
nurse the reason that I had written the information down.
At first I found that I had to re#y heavi#y on my notes and I fe#t as though I was mere#y
reading out a summary of the $atient rather than giving a summary of care that had
been given. 8nce when I had bui#t u$ a sma## bit of confidence I sti## used the notes
studySMART@gcu.ac.uk
but instead of writing down everything that I wanted to say, I wrote down the (ey
items that I wanted to say to ensure that I didnCt forget. I found this to be e-treme#y
he#$fu# and continued to do this unti# I fe#t ready to give a handover without writing
anything down. 1he first time that I gave a handover without any notes I was
e-treme#y nervous, however I a#so fe#t more confident in the (now#edge that if I did
forget a $iece of information or become f#ustered I sim$#y referred to the $atients
fo#der and used this as guide. Another reason that I fee# more confident now is that I
fee# more comfortab#e with the other members of the nursing team and do not fee# as
se#f conscious as I did when giving a handover the first time.
1his e-tract is we## written and ma(es good use of the chosen ref#ective mode#,
c#ear#y ma$$ing the writing to the framewor(. 1here are good e-am$#es of the
student/s #earning and deve#o$ment through the ref#ective $rocessE they focus on
action $#anning and im$roving their $erformance in future reoccurrences. 1he writer
$rovides a reasonab#e ana#ysis of events but cou#d, $erha$s, have inc#uded dee$er
conte-tua# information. It is main#y about the student and does not concern the wider
environment )shou#d they have been sudden#y as(ed to do the handover for
e-am$#e2+.
Ada$ted from ?tudent 6urse. 200@. 3ef#ection on a %#inica# ?(i## Aon#ineB Avai#ab#e from:
htt$:::www.studentnurse.org.u(:handover.htm#
studySMART@gcu.ac.uk
