module. Before exploring the research, the assumption was that group work would be more effective with the benefits of peer support as this had been observed in practice. Beginning with a question from practice to answer, Louise set about searching the evidence base using databases and Google Scholar. During the process she was concerned that she was looking for something that was not there or that she had asked the wrong question. Perseverance led Louise to key literature that she appraised and ultimately reflected upon, about how to implement the key outcomes to inform her clinical reasoning. Louise was reflexive as the outcomes challenged her assumptions and reinforced personal and professional values of taking an individual approach as ‘one size does not fit all’ in terms of group or individual fatigue management interventions. Exploring this topic also led on to sharing that work and attending further study to improve on the content of the intervention.
Service User Perspective and Reflection – Shani Shamah
Shani gives her opinion on how service users can be involved in reflection.
In my opinion service users could facilitate reflection by sharing experiences/feedback, answering and asking questions, and joining focus groups. Listening to your patients and taking on board what is being said by them will actually give the health professional the evidence of what works and what doesn’t. Giving the service user a voice for self-determination and a say in the planning of their care. By reflecting on what worked well, what didn’t work, talking about possible quality improvements/change within their practice, and change within approaches to their patients.
At the time of my illness in hospital I was a ‘novice’ but now having the time to reflect/look back I know better. Yes my healthcare team gained my trust, but looking back and observing practice today there were definitely areas that could have been better, for example, communication in terms of getting to know the person inside the body and what mattered to me before my illness, and in explaining some words that they used every day in ‘simple’ language. For example ‘Goals’: A goal broken down into steps becomes a plan, a plan backed by action becomes reality – and then perhaps I would have been more compliant.
Key Take Home Messages
A professional bank of information consists of propositional, professional, and personal knowledge.
Using reflection to examine the state of knowledge is transformative to both practice and learning.
The HCPC has a reflective toolkit to help develop your clinical reasoning and consider use of EBP.
References
1 Boud, D. and Walker, D. (1990). Making the most of experience. Studies in Continuing Education 12 (2): 67–80.
2 Fish, D. and Coles, C. (eds.) (1998). Developing Professional Judgment in Healthcare: Learning through the Critical Appreciation of Practice. Edinburgh: Butterworth-Heinemann.
3 Gibbs, G. (1988). Learning by Doing: A Guide to Teaching and Learning Methods. Oxford: Further Education Unit (FEU).
4 HCPC. (2013a). Standards of proficiency for dieticians. Available from: https://www.hcpc-uk.org/standards/standards-of-proficiency/dietitians (accessed 20 January 2022).
5 HCPC. (2013b). Standards of proficiency for chiropodists/podiatrists. Available from: https://www.hcpc-uk.org/standards/standards-of-proficiency/chiropodists-podiatrists (accessed 20 January 2022).
6 HCPC. (2014). Standards of proficiency for paramedics. Available from: https://www.hcpc-uk.org/standards/standards-of-proficiency/paramedics (accessed 20 January 2022).
7 HCPC. (2018). Standards of proficiency for occupational therapists. Available from: https://www.hcpc-uk.org/standards/standards-of-proficiency/occupational-therapists (accessed 20 January 2022).
8 Higgs, J., Richardson, B., and Dahlgren, M. (eds.) (2004). Developing Practice Knowledge for Health Professionals. London: Butterworth-Heinemann.
9 Higgs, J. and Titchen, A. (1995). The nature, generation and verification of knowledge. Physiotherapy 81 (9): 521–530.
10 Hoffman, T., Bennett, S., and Del Mar, C. (2013). Evidence-based Practice across the Health Professions, 2e. Sydney: Elsevier Australia.
11 Jasper, M. (2013). Beginning Reflective Practice. Andover: Cengage Learning.
12 Johns, C. (1995). Framing learning through reflection within Carper’s fundamental ways of knowing in nursing. Journal of Advanced Nursing 22 (2): 226–234.
13 Johns, C. (2017). Becoming a Reflective Practitioner, 5e. Chichester: Wiley Blackwell.
14 Kolb, D.A. (1984). Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
15 Rolfe, G., Freshwater, D., and Jasper, M. (2001). Critical Reflection for Nursing and the Helping Professions: A User’s Guide. Bristol: Macmillan.
16 Rycroft-Malone, J., Seers, K., Titchen, A., Harvey, G., Kitson, A., and McCormack, B. (2004). What counts as evidence in evidence-based practice? Journal of Advanced Nursing 47 (1): 81–90.
17 Sackett, D.L., Rosenberg, W.M., Gray, J.A., Haynes, R.B., and Richardson, W.S. (1996). Evidence based medicine: What it is and what it isn’t. British Medical Journal 312 (7023): 71–72.
18 Schön, D.A. (1983). The Reflective Practitioner: How Professionals Think in Action. London: Temple Smith.
19 Schön, D.A. (1987). Educating the Reflective Practitioner: Toward a New Design for Teaching and Learning in the Professions. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
20 Stonehouse, D. (2015). Reflective practice: Ensuring quality care. British Journal of Healthcare Management 21 (5): 237–240.
21 Taylor, M.J., McNicholas, C., Nicolay, C., Darzi, A., Bell, D., and Reed, J.E. (2014). Systematic review of the application of the plan–do–study–act method to improve quality in healthcare. BMJ Quality and Safety 23 (4): 290–298.
22 Thomson, O.P., Petty, N.J., and Moore, A.P. (2014). A qualitative grounded theory study of the conceptions of clinical practice in osteopathy – A continuum from technical rationality to professional artistry. Manual Therapy 19 (1): 37–43.
23 Tracy, S.J. (2010). Qualitative Quality: Eight ‘Big-Tent’ Criteria for Excellent Qualitative Research. Qualitative Inquiry 16 (10): 837–851.
24 van Mook, W.N., de Grave, W.S., Wass, V., O’Sullivan, H., Zwaveling, J.H., Schuwirth, L.W., and van der Vleuten, C.P. (2009). Professionalism: Evolution of the concept. European Journal of Internal Medicine European Federation of Internal Medicine 20 (4): e81–e84. doi: 10.1016/j.ejim.2008.10.005.
25 Walpola, R. and Lucas, C. (2021). Reflective practice: The essential competency for health systems and healthcare practitioners during the COVID-19 pandemic. Reflective Practice 22 (2): 143–146.
