Guide on Reflective Essay in Nursing | Effective Nursing Reflection Ideas

19 Jan 2023 1289 share it:

Isabella had recently completed her diploma in practical nursing and was considering furthering her education in the same field. For that, an impressive essay and a research paper submission were required. Although she was a scholarly student and had rich experience in nursing, she struggled with her writing skills. Isabella wanted to showcase the best nursing reflection ideas, and there was a list in her mind, but she was still confused about where to start the writing process. Then suddenly, the other day, while talking to a patient, she remembered advice from one of her colleagues. Yong Wei, her college adviser, suggested he contact nursing experts for nursing write-ups. If you are in a similar situation and do not know how to write a reflective essay, seek professional help from experts. Explain the details and main events of your Nursing career to them in the best way possible.

What Is a Reflection in Nursing Essay?

Reflection in a Nursing essay refers to the detailed description of personal experiences. It includes the elaboration of the thought process, learnings, feelings, and other Nursing reflection ideas in writing. It is subjective, and the explanation depends on all the beliefs and first-hand knowledge gained through various Nursing activities. A reflective Nursingessay should not be confused with other kinds of short forms of a write-up like analytical essays, opinionated essays, and so on. The main aim of the former is the narration of one’s perspective gained through various events.

Now that you know the fundamentals of Nursing reflection ideas, get to know why reflection is important in nursing and how it is defined in an essay. Attempt to understand it with the information shared below.

Why Reflection Is Important in Nursing?

Nursing is all about the way you provide care, support, and understanding, along with the application of the theoretical principles you have learned during the tenure of the course. Reflection is important in Nursing essays because it helps in better comprehending the experiences and learnings. In addition, it allows the self-analysis of one's knowledge. It becomes a tool for the identification of your strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities. It helps in knowing the areas of improvisation and getting a reality check. The journey of personal growth and Nursing reflection ideas can be explained excellently through a Nursing reflective essay.

Now that you understand why reflection is important in nursing, you can go through various Nursing reflection topics that you can choose for your essay.

List of Best Reflective Essay Topics for Nursing Students

There are a lot of interesting Nursing reflection topics that can be covered in your essay. You can explain all the personal experiences, learnings, and best Nursing reflection ideas through them. Here is a list of popular Nursing reflection topics. You can choose any one of them.

1. The Role of Empathy In Nursing
2. The Advantage of Strong Oral Communication in Nursing
3. Nursing as Part of the Hospitality Industry
4. Nursing as an Art of Caring
5. Practise Handling Elderly Patients
6. Elderly Healthcare Management
7. Selected Approaches for Best NursingPractices
8. Ethical Dilemmas in Daily NursingActivities
9. Role of Time Management in Nursing
10. Personal Reflections and Learning during NursingActivities
11. Models of Reflection and their usage in Nursing

Now that you are aware of the best Nursing you can take up for your essay, go through the Nursing reflective examples easily. These will give you an idea about how you can explain and elaborate on your Nursing reflection ideas.

Also Read: How to Write an Illustration Essay? Different Types and Steps to Prepare

Nursing Reflective Essay Examples

There are various ways in which you can elaborate on different Nursing reflection ideas. There isn't only one. Examples of good Nursing reflection are shared below.

Care Map for Elderly Patients and Precautions

In it, the Nursing student can draft a mini-module and explain the ways to take care of elderly patients in different situations. The pupil can also divide the information according to different diseases. For instance, a guidebook can be prepared on dealing with old patients who have irregular heart rates or symptoms of dementia.

Nursing Role and Influential Factors in Caring for Patient

In this reflective essay, the student can define Nursing reflective ideas by explaining factors that influence the caring of the patient and the learnings derived during that process. There are two more examples of good Nursing reflection shared below.

Nursing Professional Capstone and Practicum Reflection

In this kind of Nursing reflection essay, the Nursing student can elaborate on the research conducted by the group of pupils for real-life problems in nursing and the learnings associated with them.

Personal Experiences of Leadership During The Nursing Program

In it, the Nursing student can elaborate on the emotions and learning experiences during the tenure of the course program. If you don't have time or are having trouble coming up with a topic for a reflective essay, you can seek help from an essay writing service.

For now, they can go through the different tools and models for writing a reflective essay in nursing.

Reflective Tools and Models

Now that you are aware that why reflection is important in nursing, try to understand various reflective tools and models. These can prove to be highly beneficial for describe many reflection ideas nursing in your essay.

1. Gibbs’ Reflective Model

This model was founded in the late 90s by Graham Gibbs. It occurs when you are required to elaborate on some repetitive experiences. It has six stages in it. Through them, you can describe the whole learning process.

Elaboration of Basic Details

The first stage is where you need to write a simple description without any judgement or conclusion. You are required to elaborate on the event with an open mind.

Description of Emotions

The second stage is related to your feelings. In this, you need to explain the first emotion you felt and the initial action you took after it in the situation.

Examination of the Event

In the third stage, you need to describe the immediate feelings you felt during the situation. You also need to indicate whether you will count the experience as good or bad.

Comparison of the Experience

In the fourth stage, you need to compare your experience with other members involved in the act. You need to analyse whether the outcomes were similar or not

Details of the Outcome

In the last stage, you need to describe the results in more detail. You also need to describe it from a future perspective.

There are two more major models other than Gibbs’ Reflective Model that can help in indicating reflection ideas for Nursing students.

2. Kolb Reflective Model

It majorly focuses towards the application of the learnings in a range of situations. It includes an examination of the experiences through internal cognitive processes. In Kolb Reflective Model, you need to follow a particular process mentioned below.

Elaborate About First-Hand Experiences

There is no replacement for the information acquired through first-hand experience. The learnings that take place through this process cannot be compared to theoretical work or second-hand experience. So, first you need to elaborate on the first-hand concrete experiences.

Explanation of Learnings

In it, you need to describe the learnings and then move on towards the knowledge gained through it. After this list down learnings and careful observations. In addition, a model is created where a similar hypothetical situation is created, new ideas are added and answers are thought and recorded.

Putting Your Observations to Test

The last stage in this model is all about the experimentation and testing of the observations. There is no use in learnings if there is no application of it in situations. So, in the end, you need to test whatever you have learned in a new situation.

You can get Nursing assignment help in case you are struggling to use Kolb's reflective model. The experts can assist you in the best way. Before that, take a look at Driscoll Reflective Model and how you can utilize it to explain your Nursing reflection ideas.

3. Driscoll Reflective Model

It is one of the latest models of reflection proposed by John Driskoll. It involves answering three major questions to describe the experiences and the learnings. The answering of questions is divided into three steps in Driscoll Reflective Model.

Step 1: What?

At step one, remind yourself of the incident in an objective manner. Your " what " should include only a simple description of the event without any critical comment about it. In addition, elaborate on the details, persons, Nursing reflection ideas and other information involved in the act. This step will provide you with a basic direction over your personal Nursing practice reflection example.

Step 2: So What?

In the second step, you need to analyse and examine the emotions you felt during the event. You need to look for the pattern and explain your feelings. You need to go deep and think about the conflicts you faced during the act, and your current thoughts about the whole experience in comparison to the exact feeling at that particular event. Also, explain the reactions of other pupils who were involved with you. This process will help you in structuring your thoughts around chosen Nursing reflection topics.

Step 2: Now What?

At this step, you need to write about the incident from the present perspective and future context. In brief, you need to explain your current reflections on the situation and any different actions you could take next time you face a similar event. You also need to think about the negative consequences of your actions, learn from them and describe in detail about if any negative thing you could have prevented.

Other than these three major models, there are a few more that are useful but are not listed here such as Schön Reflective Model, Bouds Reflective Model and so on. These models can assist you in building the correct approach before you begin writing over the example of a good Nursing reflection. In addition, these allow you to systematically display your personal experiences in the essay.

In any case, if you are struggling with the application of these models for writing a Nursing reflective essay or you need assistance to elaborate on Nursing reflection ideas, then you can take Nursing assignment help under experts.

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Frequently Asked Questions:

1. What Is the Purpose of Writing a Reflective Essay?

The main aim of writing this essay is to reflect and share my personal opinions, thoughts, and the first-hand learnings derived from the experience. In addition, the purpose behind it is to showcase the knowledge acquired, gained, and applied during the event through a Nursing practice reflection example.

2. What Makes a Good Reflective Essay?

A good reflective essay consists of a detailed explanation of personal thoughts, opinions and learnings vividly. It beautifully reflects the emotions, actions, reactions and consequences behind the event. In addition to that, a unique topic for a reflective essay topic adds to the quality of the write-up. You can try the essay typer tool for curating a good reflective essay from scratch.

3. What Are the 3 Basic Parts of a Reflection Essay?

Any reflective essay follows a classical style of essay writing. It is divided into three sections: introduction, body, and conclusion. The first section recognizes the issue and its importance. In the body part, the learnings are explained in detail and the last part, the event is described from a future perspective. Many reflective models can be used to explain the incident and the lessons learned.

4. Which Is the Best Reflective Model to Use in Nursing?

Gibbs’ Reflective Model can be counted among the best reflective model that can be used in nursing. It includes the description of the learning in different stages. The way emotions and actions are described, examined, and analysed cannot be compared to other stages. But one should keep in mind that each model has its position and importance for explaining the procedure of learning.

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