Reflective practice is the discipline of thinking honestly and critically about your professional work. It is foundational to safety, and helps you process the demands of high-stress, high-risk healthcare.
Structured reflection can help you to:
- understand the factors behind failures
- identify opportunities to learn
- recognise where accountability sits
- see how culture shapes practice
- strengthen teamwork.
Workbook
We developed the reflective practice workbook (PDF 122.3 KB) and tip sheets below to help you build these skills. Use them on your own, with peers or in supervision.
Tip sheets
Key qualities of a reflective mindset (PDF 49.8 KB)
Develop a reflective mindset for joining a session as host or practitioner.
Creating reflective space (PDF 50.7 KB)
Set up a safe space for one-to-one or group reflection.
Getting in-sync (PDF 66.5 KB)
Establish rapport at the start of a one-to-one or group session.
Empathetic listening (PDF 53.0 KB)
Deepen your listening skills.
Asking impactful questions (PDF 64.7 KB)
Frame questions that surface insights and deepen understanding.
Question bank (PDF 48.5 KB)
Prompts for individual reflection, journalling or session preparation.
Considering multiple perspectives (PDF 58.3 KB)
Understand someone else's view or feelings before acting.
Building a shared understanding (PDF 41.1 KB)
Build a shared view of the issue raised in a session.
Resetting our state (PDF 47.9 KB)
A stepped guide for entering 'The Third Space'.
Emotional regulation (PDF 50.8 KB)
Manage intense emotions during a session.
Positive reframing to shift mindset (PDF 62.3 KB)
Help someone move past automatic negative thoughts.