Reflection, Revalidation, RCN Congress and Research

Thinking Out Loud: Journal 'Regulars'

Like many people I looked forward to experiencing RCN Congress again in June. Now of course Congress itself is a casualty of COVID-19.

Last May as already posted, I picked up several nursing journals too. Having time(!) I've read about reflection, I submitted the required reflective accounts to complete my revalidation last month (so good through to March 31 2023) and I've time to reflect now.

Reading some of the papers and browsing through the journals I notice one has "CPD reflective questions" which are specified for full-length article submissions. Here are some examples from one journal issue:

"If a patient presents with red flag signs of impeding airway obstruction, consider the aspects of the 6Cs in nursing and reflect on the care, compassion, and communication required to the patient and family.
Consider the different dimensions of a person-centred climate of a long-term care setting.
Reflect on the nurse's role in the provision of person-centred care in an older adult residential setting.
How could you make the care of patients in your setting more person-centred?
Reflecting on the case study, what do you consider may help nurses in recognising the condition early and minimise the need for investigations?
Reflect on how the time perspective [can] be an indicator of health and quality of life in people with HIV or another patient group.
Consider how the time perspective can be incorporated into the health care of people with HIV.
Think about how nurses can assess the time perspective in people with HIV."

If you understand Hodges' model then you will appreciate how the model can facilitate reflection on all of the above.

The contents page of many publications usually differentiate between 'features', or 'special focus' and pages listed as 'regulars'.

For quite a while I've not only worked on papers (two advanced drafts at present) but (quietly) wondered about those 'regular' pages and what would it take for journals to adopt Hodges' model as a common resource?

Of course, this begs questions of legitimacy, evidence-base, standards ... and as I have acknowledged Hodges' model is no panacea for a practitioner's or a health system's limitations. Hodges' model itself may constrain the adopted perspectives of readers; as opposed to as I believe, liberating them? If all the posts here were analysed, what is the holistic bandwidth of the content?* If Hodges' model was adopted what trends, if any, would be revealed? If students used Hodges' model to reflect on their own well-being in year 1 - year 3 what would they learn? Are there wells of reflection about which reader's reflections would congregate? Would this in turn be influenced by other recognised biases in publishing and the way the above questions are selected?

It would still be amazing to see Hodges' model as a regular and universal prompt. Even as a research project - the aide-mémoire it is intended to be. The journal would then actively engage with its readership and provide invaluable CPD.

My new folder is already open for the next three years ...

Be Well :: Be Safe All

*I admit that there are topics I have avoided posting, as they are potentially fraught 'politically' or in other respects.

British J. of Nursing, 28,9. 2019 (9 May, Congress Bumper Issue!).