Regular Protected Time for Reflective Practice in Nursing and Midwifery
This is a joint statement by Florence Nightingale Foundation, Foundation of Nursing Studies, Point of Care Foundation and The Queen’s Nursing Institute Scotland on the importance of regular, protected time for reflective practice in nursing and midwifery.
In 2019, statutory regulators of health and care professionals described reflection as the thought process where individuals consider their experiences to gain insights about their whole practice. They stated “reflection supports individuals to continually improve the way they work or the quality of care they give to people. It is a familiar, continuous and routine part of the work of health and care professionals”. In the statement, opportunities for multi-professional teams to reflect and discuss openly and honestly were encouraged. This was based on evidence which suggests valuable reflective experiences help to build resilience, improve wellbeing and deepen professional commitment.