On reflective practice

I am definitely a reflector. However, when reflective practice was first introduced to me at university, it did not initially come naturally and I struggled with it. As time has gone on though, I find reflective practice to be a cathartic and positive experience.

I wanted to be a paramedic to make a difference and that remains my biggest motivator. If I can do everything that I can within my scope of practice and to the best of my ability for my patients, I will be happy. But that doesn't stop me thinking after the event, ‘what else could I have done?’, and ‘would that have changed things?‘. I spend a lot of time thinking about whether I could have done something differently and often realise that patient outcomes would be no different

I find using Rolfe's reflective model useful to facilitate my reflections, though not every reflection is formal and written down. Often a quick thought on ‘what?’, ‘so what?’ and ‘now what?’ is enough to satisfy my reflective curiosity.