Reflective writing

If you have recently undertaken your dental nurse training or have completed a post qualifying specialist dental course at a university, then you will probably have encountered at least one model of reflective writing. If your course involved a written assessment then you will have probably been asked to structure some form of university assignment using a particular reflective model. These structured models are useful for students who require some guidance and need to reference a specific model. However, having to write and structure your thoughts in a prescribed format to fulfil the criteria of a specific section of the model can prevent the reflective process doing what it does best; and that is to ‘think outside the box’. Let me encourage you to be more creative in your use of reflection. Take charge of how you use reflection so that it does not become another form filling, tick box exercise, that becomes yet another burden in your busy life. Let me tell you how I have used reflection in the last few weeks. I’m not saying that you need to do the same as me, but hopefully you will see that reflective techniques can be used in different ways, in ordinary situations to help you think about, plan and learn from your experiences.