How to get the most out of reflective discussion

Reflection is more than a revalidation must-have – it can help you face challenges

With nurses working longer shifts and under increasing pressures, finding time for reflection can be challenging – but revalidation has given it added emphasis.

‘It almost fell out of vogue for a while, but now there’s a renewed focus on its value to practice,’ says Alison Finch, assistant chief nurse at University College London Hospitals (UCLH) NHS Foundation Trust.

Many of the traditional points in the day, such as shared lunchtimes and breaks, when nurses may once have had the chance to reflect together, have been lost, Ms Finch says, especially with 12-hour shifts now commonplace. ‘It doesn’t happen in the way it used to,’ she says. ‘Operationally, it’s so busy in many clinical settings, and we work much more in silos. The natural times when people