Key Learning Points

• Understand the concept of reflective practice

• Explore the role of reflection in practice

• Use critical incident analysis as a basis for reflection

Introduction

In recent years, healthcare provision has changed significantly. It is with a degree of certainty that we can assume change will continue, as society undergoes progress and transformation. The rapid transformation has, and will continue to have, a direct impact on the role and function of all healthcare practitioners. Evolutionary history teaches that all organisms must adapt with their environment or die, and that organisms developing a feature that helps them to succeed in their environment prosper at the expense of those who do not (Handy 1989).

The changing environment in healthcare follows national direction as set out in the current government's policies. These were first outlined in the White Paper The New NHS: Modern, Dependable (Department of Health 1997), followed by the strategic framework presented in The NHS Plan (Department of Health 2000). These policies presented the vision for the NHS in the twenty-first century. More recently, further challenges in the reform journey within the NHS are presented in High Quality Care for All: NHS Next Stage Review Final Report (Department of Health 2008).