"Nurses' ability to reflect on their practice is vital to the profession" Is it?

I beg to differ with the title of this editorial, as I wonder how vital reflection really is; and not just to nursing, but to the profession. I wonder from the rather detached perspectives of:

• Wigan Pier - and the parochial view this engenders (#globalhealth - where on Earth do I think I am?);
• As a 'local' nurse practising in Bolton;
• As a mental health nurse practising in the community within the NHS
• As a champion of a pivotal* resource for reflection and critical thinking (where is everyone?);
• and several others ...

Nursing Management

Quinn notes how "Nursing continues to develop to meet the needs of the society in which it operates." Plus: "A core part of revalidation is the ability to reflect on, and learn from, our interactions with others." My reading of Kinchin (and others over the years) suggests that reflection needs to be more a practice and revalidation based. I understand this is not what Quinn is saying in this issue on "Reflection as part of revalidation". Reflection using Hodges' model can be preemptive and anticipatory. We need to get beyond introspection and the retrospective important as this is.

As to where people are, it seems they are elsewhere, maybe reflecting in the sciences domain seeking theories and evidence. Perhaps, current teaching and exposure to models and theories of nursing and healthcare has them reaching for 'pure' models of reflection - Boud, Gibbs et al. when necessary. As we talk about the legacy issue that is integrated care, in Hodges' model here is a tool - a 'freebie', a 'takeaway' yes an Ubercare, that can grow with students, newly qualified nurses and experienced staff as lifelong learners.

Now that is vital to me. When reflection is hard-wired**, a part of a practitioner's cognitive apparatus and their educational toolkit to share with the public explicitly or implicitly as the context and engagement demands.

*Pivotal? Yes, and of course in light of the above, I'd be pleased to explain and even argue the case. The irony here is the current (ongoing!) focus upon recruitment and retention. Hodges' model is 'just' a tool, I recognise this; but could the application of Hodges' model energise, inoculate and so prime students for their course of education and practice placements?

**soft-wired too - humanistic

Quinn, B. Nurses' ability to reflect on their practice is vital to the profession, Nursing Management, April 2019. 26:2, p.5.